Say what!
by HelloDoomsday
Summary: Saeki Kojirou found the girl he really ADMIRES? What if he realizes that he has some competitions at hand... Will he be successful for that girl to be his? let's all find... wahahahahah!
1. Impossible

**This is the edited chapter one. I kinda told myself to keep the writing style, but correct the grammar. At least I can see my improvement whenever I read this again from the start, the writing style that is. NOTE: I only edited the grammar and punctuations. That's all. **

**I really can't believe that I improved a lot as the story progressed, especially in grammar. But I still have a lot more stuffs to work on.**

"Damn fangirls." a girl named Fujiwara Mayumi stated, sitting on her seat, after she almost got mobbed on by screaming fangirls who were chasing after some tennis guy.

Mayumi was just an ordinary girl who hated, well, not really hate but didn't really care about popular guys or even ordinary boys that much…

"Why am I not enrolled in the same school as Eiji?" Mayumi complained, placing her head on the desk in front of her.

"Konnichiwa, Mayumi-san." She heard a masculine voice from her side.

She smirked. "What's good in the afternoon," she started as she leisurely looked up at the person who just greeted her. "…Saeki-san?"

"Looks like you had a bad day." he chuckled, as he sat on his own chair which was just beside the lass'.

"Not really. My day started great not until I almost got stepped on by a battalion of lowlives which other people called fangirls. I'm quite fine, thank you." she said sarcastically. "Wait a sec. Why are you here? Don't you have any practice or something?" Mayumi asked.

"It's free practice. It's okay for Oji if we won't train. You?" Saeki said.

"Day off."

"Day off?" he repeated what she said, didn't quite get what she meant.

"Don't ask… I'm going to Seigaku, coming?" she asked indifferently.

"Are you inviting me?"

"Well, if you don't-"

"No, I'll go."

"Okay then."

-0.0-

**SEIGAKU…**

"Game and match. Winner Kikumaru-Oishi pair." the umpire concluded.

"HURRAY!!! WE WON!!!" the red-haired acrobat shouted in joy, as he jumped on his partner's back.

"Congratulations..." a feminine voice was heard and everyone in the court turned to where the voice came from.

"MAYUMI-CHAAAN!!!" the red-head hugged his bestfriend oh so tight once he got close to her.

"I-CAN'T-BREATHE" Mayumi said while struggling for air and finally Eiji let her go.

"Aheheh… Sorry." and a knuckle met his empty head.

"Hey! That hurts… What was that for?" Eiji pouted.

AS THEY KEPT ON TALKING…

"Konnichiwa, Saeki." the tensai of Seigaku greeted his childhood friend.

"Konnichiwa, Fuji."

"So, is she the girl?" Saeki nodded.

"She's too cute… for you, that is." he joked.

"Yea-, Hey!" Fuji smiled.

"Have you confessed?"

"Are you crazy? She'll kill me!"

"Kissed her?"

"That's just the simplest way in committing suicide." Fuji chuckled.

"That's good."

"You're not really helping."

"I know." The tensai said, still had his sadistic smile.

-0.0-

"ACHOOOOO!" Mayumi sneezed.

"You alright?" Eiji asked. Mayumi nodded in response.

"You better drink my new vegetable juice this can make you feel better." Inui stated after he popped out of nowhere.

"No thanks, I'm fine." Inui shrugged and walked on towards the other members of the team.

"Do you have any plans on-?" Mayumi didn't let Eiji finished his sentence.

"Hell no. It's very impossible for him to like a girl like me."

"Why shouldn't he? You're cute-"

"Shut it."

"Sporty, talented, simple, not to mention… smart."

"And boyish" she thought to herself… "Of course you'd say those things you're my best for Pete's sake."

"No. Really."

"Just shut it."

-0.0-

**NEXT DAY at **_**ROKKAKU CHU**_

The teachers gave their class a free period, so it's also expected that the classrooms will be almost empty or maybe empty... in Mayumi's class...

Mayumi was sleeping on her seat while her seatmate, Saeki, was reading a book, and the others were nowhere to be found in the room. They were the only ones left.

"She looks very peaceful." he told himself then he said something to Mayumi in a low voice.

"Mayumi-san, I really really like you." he blushed while looking at the girl in slumber.

"I did it... well, sorta." he thought. He wasn't really sure if he would be happy or not.

The door slid open.

"Saeki-san, come here!" Kentarou told him childishly.

Saeki stood up "Hai, Kentarou." and went out of the door.

Mayumi's eyes opened..."Did I just hear the impossible or was that a dream?"

-----0.0-----

_**Author: Heyaaa, guys! This story is supposed to be oneshot... but what the heck my friends told to add more. So I cut it into some chapters. So please keep on reading and don't forget to review...**_


	2. Nothing happened

**Edited chapter 2. Just like chapter one, I only edited the grammar, well I kinda added some stuffs aside from that. But there aren't much difference. **

**-----0.0-----  
**

**Same day…**

_**Kikumaru residence…. 7:00 pm**_

KKKKKRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNGGGGG!!!

"Moshi moshi?"

"Best, I had heard the IMPOSSIBLE." Mayumi said to her best friend on the other line.

"He confessed?!" he replied in a loud voice that made his family stare at him strangely like in a --- 'are-you-gay-or-something?' stare. (A/N: is there even one?)

"Well… when I was… asleep." and Eiji hanged up.

"Eiji? Eiji? OI! BAKA!" she yelled on the receiver and received no answer at all.

Eiji called Fuji about this, and Fuji called Saeki. Saeki was just blanked.

"She heard me?!" Saeki freaked out.

"Don't worry…" Fuji comforting him.

"How can I? She might not talk to me anymore; avoid me or worse _KILL ME._"

"That's good and….. She likes you too." Fuji told him.

"You do know that that's quite impossible."

"But that's the truth… and I thought the truth hurts but what the heck."

"…" and Fuji hanged up

---0.0---

**Next day…**

_**Fujiwara residence… 6:30 am**_

KKKKKRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNGGGGG!!!

"Moshi moshi?"

"Ohayo, Mayumi-chan. Are you free this afternoon?" Eiji greeted and asked.

"No."

"Really?"

"No, not really. Yeah, I'm free."

"Great." Eiji cheered.

"Why? What happened?"

"Betsuni, I just want to hang out."

"Fine then… Wait. Are you going to my school or vice versa?" Mayumi asked.

"Let's just meet at the park."

"Okay." then there was 10 seconds of silence.

"Who are comin'?" Mayumi broke the silence in a 'you-think-I'm-stupid?' tone.

"She caught me." Eiji thought.

"Maybe Fuji." Eiji lied.

"Well then, I'm off. Ja" then Mayumi hanged up.

---0.0---

_**Afternoon came…**_

"Where's that hyper cat?" Mayumi asked no one but herself impatiently, and a figure appeared behind her.

"Mayumi-san," the figure said.

"Oso-o-I?" she said as she turned to the figure who she thought was the red-haired acrobat.

"A-gomen, Saeki-san. What're you doing here?" Mayumi asked.

"I figured taking a walk. You?" he replied.

"Eiji wants to hang out but he hasn't showed up yet."

"Mind if I join you while waiting?"

"Not really."

Silence grew… Mayumi was leaning on a post and Saeki was behind the post also leaning on it… As silence grew, Mayumi decided to break it…

"Don't you have something to say?" Mayumi asked.

"You figured?"

"I'm not that dumb, Saeki-san." and Saeki faced Mayumi.

"I-I…. rea-really,"

"Spit it out or I'll kill you right now." Mayumi threatened not looking at the boy in front.

"I really like you." Saeki said in a fast speed yet Mayumi could hear it clearly…

"Righ-, SAY WHAT?!" she exploded (not really…), didn't expect that Saeki would say that to her personally though she already knew that Saeki liked her.

"Eiji, you can get out of there now." Mayumi said as she looked over her shoulder looking at the bush behind her… There Eiji popped out.

"HOI HOI!" he greeted the 2 which means Mayumi was right that her best friend was just hiding. Damn him.

"So this is what you've been planning, Eiji?" Mayumi asked her; Eiji nodded.

Mayumi sighed and faced the shocked Saeki, who clearly didn't understand what was happening.

"Now that you said what you want to say, what're you gonna do now, Saeki-san?" Mayumi asked him in a calm tone.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" also in a fast speed and he blushed, while Mayumi…

"Oka-, wha-wha WHAT?!" Mayumi's eyes widened.

"ALRIGHT!" Eiji cheered; hit Saeki's back so hard that he was pushed forward which made his lips touch Mayumi's.

The 3 of them were surprised on what happened.

"Uh-oh" Eiji thought.

Finally Mayumi broke the so-called kiss.

"Eiji…" she said to Eiji in a roaring tone and she had her fiery eyes.

"Ahehehe…" Eiji backed few steps away then,

"TATSUKETE!!!" he shouted as he ran for his life.

"SHIIII-NNNEEEE, BAKA NEKO!!!" Mayumi said furiously as she chased the cat.

**----------0.0----------**

_**Osoi: you're late; slow**_

_**Tatsukete: help; help me; save me**_

_**Shine/shi-ne: die**_

_**Neko: cat**_

_**Author: This is suppose to be the end of my one shot but as I've said my friends wants more… so please keep on reading my fic and don't forget to review… thanks **_


	3. He's here

**Same day**

KKKRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNGGGGG!!!!!!

"Moshi moshi?"

"Konnichiwa, is Mayumi-chan there?" Eiji asked

"Hold on"

-silence-

"Wait, are you Mayumi-chan's boyfriend?" PUNCH!... Eiji sweat dropped

"Yeah?" Mayumi answered

"Was that your brother?"

"Obviously. What's up?"

"You still mad?"

"Eiji, what's done's done. It can't be helped"

"Hurray! So, did you feel anything?" Eiji asked

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"You know. Are there any fireworks?"

"I-I don't know. Everything was just so fast, okay?"

"Don't so fast me, little missy… you like him since first year"

"So what? It was really fast"

"Right" Eiji said in a 'yeah-like-i-believe-you' tone

"Shut up! Or do you want me to do the same to your crush?"

"No… don't… please"

"Whatever. Now I don't know how to face him tomorrow"

"Heheh.. Gambatte yo, Mayumi-chan" Eiji said and hanged up

"Oi chotto- never mind"

**Next day**

Mayumi and Saeki are avoiding each other… Even during pair activities, they're always paired up, they won't talk about anything that is never related in the activity. They even avoided having eye contact…

"Okay class, dismissed. Fujiwara, Saeki please stay behind" their sensei announced

"You called?" Mayumi asked impatiently, wanting to get out and avoid Saeki for the day

"I want you 2 to do some works for me"

* * *

**-SILENCE-**

**Mayumi's P.O.V.**

This is just great. Saeki-san has to go to my house and do some freaking works. Curse you, Sensei!!!

**End of P.O.V.**

Saeki broke the silence

"Mayumi-san, abou-"

"We're here"

"Tadaima" Mayumi said as she walked in and Saeki followed

"I guess they'll go home a little late" she thought

The 2 went to Mayumi's room… Mayumi put her bag on her bed, turned the PC on, and sat on a chair

"Saeki-san—"

**DING DONG!**

"Since when did we have a doorbell?" Mayumi asked herself

Mayumi answered the door downstairs…

* * *

"Hoi hoi, Mayumi-chan" Eiji greeted

"Eiji…"

"Hmmm?"

"He's here…"

"Oh"

-SILENCE-

"Really?!" Eiji asked; Mayumi nodded

"Oh yeah. Your mom told me to come over since they'll come home late"

"Come on in" Mayumi told Eiji "Just feel yourself at home

* * *

"Sorry for the delay… you're already working" Mayumi said as she just arrived in the room…

"It's okay and yeah as you can see" Saeki said as he's typing the so-called 'work' their sensei gave them…

-SILENCE-

"Mayumi-san, about yesterday" Saeki started

"Oh crap" Mayumi thought

"No, it's okay it was just an accident" is Mayumi's reply

"Not that. It's about the unanswered question" Saeki started to blush still Mayumi didn't notice

"I don't really remem—" Mayumi then had a flashback

"_**Will you be my girlfriend?"**_

"Oh. The girlfriend thing?" Mayumi said in a serious tone; Saeki is already hiding his face because his blushing like crazy…

_**Author: Hey guyz! What will be Mayumi's answer? Will she accept the ever cute at the same time hot, Saeki Kojirou? Find out in the next chapter… please do review. I really need your comments**_


	4. A play?

_**Author: Hi guys... you might be wondering why Mayumi doesn't like boys that much... anyway that question will be anwered as the story progress. and I'm sorry if there're grammatic errors.But hope you'll keep on reading. **_

_**Chapter 4 **_

_**EnjoY! **_

"It's about the unanswered question." Saeki said

"Oh. The girlfriend thing?" Mayumi asked; Saeki's blushing I tell you!

_**End of review**_

"Gomen, Saeki-san. I still want us to be friends. I don't want to ruin our friendship but I'm okay if you'll court me. But be prepared because bad things will surely happen to you." Mayumi said

Mayumi stood up and opened the door

_**Author: HA! You think that Eiji's gonna fall down and caught Saeki's attention, didn't you?**_

As Mayumi opened the door, Eiji fell down because he was leaning on the door, eavesdropping…

_**Author: Well you're right but if you didn't, now you know...**_

"Itai… H-hi, Mayumi-chan, Saeki" the other 2 looked at Eiji; Saeki"s Eyes widened while Mayumi sighed and went back to Saeki for the work. Saeki went back to work

"I'm done." Saeki finished

"Great. Now, let's print this thing and we'll eat dinner afterwards." Mayumi said...

"WE?!" Saeki and Eiji asked...

"What?!" Mayumi asked the 2 boys...

* * *

They're already in the dining room, eating obviously… 

"_I still want us to be friends. I don't want to ruin our friendship..." _Saeki thought , remembering what Mayumi said earlier…

SNAP!!!

Mayumi and Eiji snapped their fingers to bring back Saeki to reality…

"Saeki-san..." Mayumi started...

"Are you alright, nya?" Eiji added...

"A-yeah, I-I'm fine." he nodded; Mayumi and Eiji raised a confused brow..

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want a walk home?" Mayumi asked as Saeki was about to go home. They're already at the door… Saeki nodded. 

"I'll be fine" walks away...

"You sure?"

"Yeah, really"

"Suit yourself, mata ashita"

"Ja" Both waved one of their hands

* * *

"Really?" Eiji asked after Mayumi told him what happened earlier… 

"Really." She nodded

"Why didn't you answer _yes_? That was your chance!"

"Eiji, you know me very well. I know, you know the answer."

"So, you're gonna kill him, is that it?"

"I much prefer calling it _A TEST._"

"I don't think it's such a good idea…"

"It's only if, and only_ IF _he'll court me."

"Kami-sama, please protect Saeki from my best friend's way of killing him." Eiji prayed in thought

* * *

**A NEW DAY CAME…**

"Here, sensei." Mayumi handed her sensei the work they were asked to do

"Arigatou. I know I could trust you 2." took the paper and put it inside her drawer

"Why did you ask for a story, sensei?" Saeki asked

"Obviously for a program." Mayumi answered

"Oh my, please don't tell anybody. I'll be the one to tell them later." Sensei told them

"Hai." the 2 said in chorus and went back to their classroom

* * *

**RECESS**

"Fujiwara-san and Saeki-san, please proceed to the faculty room."

All eyes turned to the 2…

"Crap" Mayumi thought.

* * *

**FACULTY ROOM**

"Excuse me, is-"

"FUJIWARA-SAN!!!" her sensei ran towards her, like she had gone crazy

"Eh?" Mayumi moved aside to avoid her sensei and Saeki arrived

"SAEKI-SAN!!!" hugged the poor, poor Saeki

"Sensei?" Saeki was confused on what happened

* * *

"Sorry for my behavior earlier." sensei apologized

"You called for us?" Saeki asked then their sensei nodded

"When I read your story, I was touched ands I loved what you have done. Who made this? Both of you?"

"Well, Mayumi-san got the idea and I wrote the story" Saeki explained

"Great teamwork! Now, if you two will excuse me, I'm going to announce this for the program" she said to her students in a very fast speed

* * *

**ROOM 3-4 (Mayumi's class)**

"What role did you get?" Saeki asked

-_**SILENCE-**_

"Mayumi-san"

"Oh… were you talking to me? Gomen, what again?"

"What's your role?"

"Role? You?"

"I asked you first, but okay… I got _prince_" Seki answered

"SAY WHAT?!" Mayumi was excited after she heard "Prince"

"Hey, guys! Who got the hime role?!" Mayumi asked the class; a girl named Yukino raised her hand

"Who's the prince?" their sensei asked

Mayumi pointed Saeki

"Perfect pair, I'd say… Stage director?" sensei asked

Mayumi raised her hand

"Fujiwara-san, please take over" their sensei told her

* * *

Mayumi's the stage director that means, she's going to be really busy. 

"Yes" Mayumi thought since she's already avoiding Saeki this gives her the chance to, you know, not seeing him for some time… until the big day…

Mayumi prepared everything even the problems that are vulnerable to happen, she prepared for back-up… 15 minutes before the play will start…

"Okay, people, settle down. We're almost up. Ai-san (a staff), please check the attendance of the casts" Mayumi said

Ai is doing what Mayumi had told her until…

"Prince!" Ai announced

Saeki then came out of the room wearing a very cute clothing for a_ real _prince charming. All girls except Mayumi had hearts as eyes or whatever…

"Sugoi" Mayumi thought as she was stunned "I can't believe that Saeki-san could get this cute" she added in thought

"Mayumi-san…" Ai called and whispered to her something

"SAY WHAT?! Are you kidding?" Ai shook her head

"The princess is sick…" she said in dismay

* * *

_**Author: Hi, guys! Me again. Now that the hime is sick and can't do the role, who's going to take her place? Mayumi? Well, let's all find out in the next chapter… Reviews please and thank you**_


	5. The start

_**Author: i think this chap is not that good but i hope you can still appreciate it. Enjoy!!!**_

"_Say what?! You kidding?" Mayumi asked and Ai shook her head_

"_The princess is sick…" Ai said in dismay_

They had to another girl to play the role of the princess… Guess who it is… Mayumi? Wrong…She already prepared everything. Every problem that may possibly happened…

The play is about a princess who's picking who will be her prince. Yet no matter how many they are, how rich they are, none caught the princess's heart. Until one day she decided to leave or should I say escape from the palace as she thought that her true love isn't a prince. She arrived in a village; there lived simple yet happy villagers. By the way the princess's name is Angela. In that village she found Albert and she fell in love at first sight. Albert was not a women's guy. He's been chased by pretty girls but he doesn't really care about the opposite sex. Until Albert found himself falling with the princess after the princess stayed in the village for about 8 months… the villagers still didn't know that the princess is a princess, until the people from the kingdom came to return the princess back to the castle. Angela refused over and over, so the queen came out. Angela came back to the kingdom to be not her usual self. The queen noticed her angel, so she talked with her. Angela told her mother everything even the feelings she has for Albert. She returned to that village and said to them to stay in their kingdom. At first, Albert refused but he can't resist his love for the princess…_ (this is soooo corny, in my opinion)_

And they live happily ever after….

Man that was long…

I almost forgot… before the play started Saeki wore his prince costume, right? It was just for checking… okay? Just for checking

Anyway...

* * *

**The play**

"Mayumi-san, the proxy" Ai said then whispered something to Mayumi

"She's injured?" Mayumi asked; then Ai nodded

"Okay then. (sigh) let Haruhi take the role"

"Hai"

The play almost ended… it's the time where Albert and Angela are married and the priest said "you may kiss the bride"

"This is it" Mayumi said to herself

"Guys, get ready" Mayumi told the crew

"Hai" they replied

As Saeki was about about to kiss the girl (which played Angela) the curtain was slowly lowered by the crew… and that was it, the play ended… the audience gave a thundering applause… they did not kiss, alright?

* * *

_**Back stage…**_

"Great job, guys" Mayumi congratulated everyone

Then she sat on a chair and rested

"Whew, being the director is tiring yet I still had fun" Mayumi said to herself

Mayumi then remembered about the play when Saeki was about to kiss the girl…Mayumi shook her head and _"that was just a play damnit!"_ that's what she said to herself

**Minutes later…**

"Delivery for Fujiwara Mayumi-san" a delivery boy said at the back stage

"She's in that room" Ai points

The delivery boy went to the room

"Fujiwara-san?" the delivery boy said

"Yes?" Mayumi replied not looking at the boy, her back was facing him

"Delivery for you"

"Delivery? Place it on the table in front of me please. I'm still kinda tired"

The boy went to her and as he was about to put the _package_. Mayumi saw the _package_which made her eyes widened

"Wh-who gave these?!" Mayumi said as she face the boy

"It was from a guy. He said there's a card there or something. The bouquet is beautiful, isn't it?

Oh… a bouquet? How sweet

"Really? Thanks"

"Please sign here" the boy said as he lends a paper and a pen to Mayumi and she signed it

Mayumi observed the bouquet and tried to find the card…

"Where could it be?

"Oh, here it is" she found the card and it says _'Congratulations'_

"For what? But I appreciate the flowers. But who's this from?"

She continued reading and there it said: _'from your secret admirer'_

"Secret admirer? Could it be Saeki? No, it can't be. He already confessed. And flowers?

Saeki came into the room still wearing his prince attire

"Who's that for?" he asked

"For… me" she said in a low voice

"Huh?" Saeki's world fell (kidding…)

"Who's it from?" he asked

"Secret admirer…"

"Oh"

"This ain't from you, isn't it?"

"No" he shook his head

"I thought so"

"Who do you think gave that?"

"Beats me but-"

"Konnichiwa, Mayumi-chan!" a person came in

Eiji? Nope wrong again

"Sengoku-san. Just who I'd thought it would be" Mayumi greeted the oranged-hair chickboy

"So did you like the flowers?" Sengoku asked

"You do know that I don't love flowers that much?"

"Yeah, I know. So am I lucky today?"

"I think I'll just go outside" Saeki interrupted not wanting to know what the are talking about

"Huh?" Sengoku squinted

"Sa-e-ki-san" Mayumi said wondering

"Anyway, are you going or not?" Sengoku asked

"I'm gong but I'll be late"

"Huh? Naze?

"Because I'm tired. Just tell onee-san that I'll be late"

"Oh, alright"

Sengoku and Mayumi are not and I mean they're not siblings

Sengoku went out of the room and found Saeki got out from his dressing room not wearing his costume anymore

"He's so lucky" Sengoku smirked and went off

_**Saeki's P.O.V.**_

No wonder she doesn't like me. There's already someone in her heart

"_I'm okay if you'll court me. But just be prepared because bad things will happen to you_

Bad things echoed around my head over and over again

Is this one of the bad things that will happen to me? Being heart broken

_**Author: dude, you're still not her boyfriend**_

But I haven't court her yet, so…

_**End of P.O.V**_

"Saeki-san?" Saeki's thought were interrupted by Mayumi

"Are you okay?" she asked

"A-yeah, of course I am" he replied

"FUJIWARA! SAEKI!" their sensei screamed

"Eh?" Mayumi and Saeki wondered

"Great job, you- No, Great is not the word… hmmm… Excellent work, you 2. I'll be expecting more from the both of you"

"Arigatou, sensei" the 2 teens stated

"Expecting? More? From me? And him? Man my life is like… I don't know… more on Saeki" Mayumi thought

* * *

_**Kikumaru residence 8:00 pm**_

KKKKRRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGG!!!!

"moshi moshi?"

"Konbanwa, is Eiji-san there?"

"Hoi hoi nya. Who may this be?" Eiji asked

"Saeki Kojirou"

"Saeki? The one who studies at the same school as Mayumi-chan. And came to our school with her days ago. Vice-captain of the Rokkaku boys tennis club. The one who likes Mayumi-chan and confessed his feelings for her days ago-?" Eiji's rant was cut

"Yeah" Saeki answered as he was a bit irritated

"What do you want, nya?"

"I just want to ask you something… what do you think I should do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I will court Mayumi-san or not"

"Hmmm… do you really like her?" Eiji asked in a teasing tone

"A-yeah… I really do"

"What does your heart say?"

His heart says "Dug dug… dug dug" you know the pumping sound… Eiji's getting a little serious… oh well.

"I want her to be mine" (that was a little corny)

"Then court her nya"

"But what if—"

"Do you really love my best?"

"Yeah—"

"Well, if you do, do it!!!" Eiji yelled like he's Mayumi's dad or something

"Ye-yes, sir"

"Good. So when will you start?"

"Tomorrow"

"Gambatte yo!" Eiji said back in his childish personality

* * *

_**Next Day**_

Mayumi arrived in school earlier than usual. While on the gates she saw the members of the boy's tennis club are doing their morning practice

"Persistent as usual" Mayumi thought

_**3-4 (Mayumi's class)**_

Mayumi slid open the door and went to her seat after she slid the door close. Under the table where she'll put her notebooks… she found something

"What's this?" she asked herself

"A bracelet? Who's this from?"

(A/N: okay, the bracelet is not a jewelry but it is made up of some kind of yarn)

_**During Class**_

_**Mayumi's P.O.V.**_

Who gave this bracelet anyway? But hey, whoever gave this really knew my taste… It's simple yet cute- I did not say that. I said it's cool not cute…

_**End of P.O.V.**_

Mayumi noticed that her seatmate is looking at some space in the room…

"Saeki-san, you alright?" Mayumi whispered

"Huh? Ye-yeah"

"You sure?" Saeki nodded

RRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGG!!!

"Where were you last night, Mayumi-san?" Saeki asked

"Eh? I was joining a party" Mayumi replied

"Oh… With Sengoku-san?" Mayumi nodded

_**Author: hi guys… sorry for the late update, things happened. But anyway thanks for the reviews and I hope you will keep on reading…Thanks guys luv yah all!!!**_

_** Naze means 'why?'  
**_


	6. What?

_**Author: hi guys. Sorry if I'm not really good… actually this is my 2**__**nd**__** fic I made at the same time my first fic that I'd posted. And sorry for the late update.**_

DISMISSAL

"Dismissed, minna-san!" Kentarou Aoi, the freshman captain, announced to the club members…

TTTTOOOOOOTTTT!!!!

-Out of signal-

Time check: 4:45 pm

O…kay. What happened? What?! Out of signal?! You're kidding, right?! Oh… come on!!!

* * *

"Achoo!!!" Saeki sneezed 

What happened to Saeki-kun? What?! He has a fever?... Cold? Flu? AAAAAHHHH!!! Which one, damnit?!

Mayumi! We can't have-. Mayumi? Where's Mayumi? Oh… she has an appointment? Where? The mental hospital?! Oh… sorry, my bad. Okay, at least it is confirmed that Mayumi's not doing stupid things right now, right?

* * *

"ACHOOO!!!" Mayumi sneeze

* * *

Well… sorry guys. I guess we can't have the continuation of the previous chapter this week but maybe on the next update. Heheheh…. 

I NEED BACK UP HERE!!!

* * *

"Thank you, Eiji-san. You're a big help." I said 

"Huh? What did I do? And why am I here?" Eiji said confused

"Well, I need to cover up this freaking chapter while waiting for Mayumi and Saeki. Stupid inconveniences."

"Oh. So… what are we going to do?" Eiji asked while I was smiling innocently

-SILENCE-

-SILENCE-

-SILENCE-

"…"

Then a cricket sound came in…

-SILENCE-

"NNNNOOOOO!!!!" I screamed "I HAVE NO IDEA!!!" I added

The back of my head was hit by a shoe…

-SILENCE-

"Okay… WHO DID THAT?!" I said with firey eyes

Then a shorty came in, wearing a white cap. He slid his left hand in his pocket while the other hand was holding a ponta…

"You know, shorty. You shouldn't do that to the one who wrote this story, seriously." I said

"Why wouldn't I?" Ryoma replied back

"You don't need to know."

"Kari-chan…?" Eiji asked

"Yes?" I asked back

"Are we going to argue until this chapter ends?"

"No! That would be stupid!"

"Yeah, just like you" Ryoma interrupted

"SAY WHAT?!" I roared

"Betsuni…" he said calmly as he pulled down his cap

"I need to call some people." I said to the 2 boys

* * *

"Why do I have to be here?" A person named Ying Fa whined 

"Because I need to cover up this astonishing chapter." I said

"Hey, why are we here?" A shorty named Riyan asked

"Yeah, aren't we supposed to be in the FMA fictions?" A mechanic genius named Merodi added

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I want cookies." an obsessed gamer, named Michiru, said

"Everyone, don't let your guard down" Obviously a stoic captain said

* * *

"Saa, what are we gonna do now?" a guy said wearing a sadistic smile

* * *

"Fuji! Damnit, you sadistic freak! Get me down from here!" I said as I was caught by one of Fuji's traps—I was caught by a net and already hanging on the ceiling… (you get what I mean). 

"Maybe later." He replied

"WHAT?!" then he left. "OI! CHOTTO!... this is hopeless."

* * *

There was a food eating contest… I think you already know who are participating, right? 

"Our contestants are: Kikumaru Eiji, Momoshiro Takeshi, Echizen Ryoma, and Tezuka Kunimitsu. A round of applause please." Michiru, the host, announced

-cricket sound-

"Fear me for I have a stick!" Michiru added

An applause came…

"I refuse." Tezuka said

"Come on, Tezuka" Eiji pouted; then Tezuka gave a glare

"50 laps tomorrow" Tezuka ordered

"Stop being a party pooper, Tezuka." Riyan said then covers her mouth. "Did I just say that?" Riyan asked Merodi

"Hmmm." Merodi nodded. "You're doomed, Riyan" she added

"BURNING!!!" a person shouted together 3 persons.

One was wearing a pair of glasses and scribbling something on his green notebook; the other was wearing a green bandana; and one has this cool (cool?) pointy bangs

"Taka!!! Oishi! Kaidoh! Inui-i-i… No!!!" Eiji said

"What's wrong with him?" Ying Fa asked the 2 girls

"Dunno." The 2 girls replied

* * *

"Mattaku…" I said while waiting for someone to help me get down.

* * *

"READY… GET SET… GO!" the girls except for Ying Fa said 

"And I thought Tezuka won't join the contest." Ying Fa said

"SSSHHHH!!!" the others told her.

"Don't 'SSSSHHHH' me."

"Hi, guys." Fuji greeted

"Hi!" the others replied

"What's going on?"

"And I thought you're a genius." Ying Fa replied

"SSSHHHH!!!" others said

"I said don't 'SSSSHHHH' me."

"Whaaaa!!! I didn't know that Tezuka is so into this." Merodi said

"Of course he's into this, it's FOOD!" Michiru said

* * *

"How many dishes are they eating anyway?" Riyan asked 

"About half a hundred." Michiru answered

"WHAT?!" others said

"Ii data" Inui said scribbling on his notebook

"This is not good. I should have stopped this from the beginning." The mother hen of Seigaku said; worried

"Something's bothering me."

"FFsssshhhh…What is it, Kawamura-senpai?" Viper asked

"Where did they get all of those foods?"

-SILENCE-

"Okay… forget about that. Let's just have fun." Merodi and Riyan said in unison

* * *

_**LATER**_

"And the winner is…." Michiru started

-Drumroll-

Michiru took the paper inside the envelope

"Okay. And the winner is…"

-DRUMROLL-

Looked at the paper…

-drumroll-

"It's a tie! Congratulations, everyone!" Michiru said

"WHAT?!" Eiji and Momo said; shocked "We want a recount!" they added.

"We already count it 5 times, you numbskulls." Michiru answered

"We?" others mumbled.

"SHUT UP!"

Inui looked at his watch… it was already 6:15pm

"It's getting late guys." (it is late!) Inui said

* * *

_**On the way home…**_

They were walking together…

"I better go ahead. Ja" Ying Fa bid farewell (huh?)

"Me too." Michiru also said

"Ja." Others said

"We better go back to FMA fictions now. Ja, minna." Riyan and Merodi said in unison

Then there was the boys left… then Fuji stopped suddenly…

"Huh? What's wrong, Fujiko?" Eiji asked

"I think I forgot something." Fuji said; thinking

"Hey, have you seen Kari-senpai?" Momo asked

"Yep, that was the one." Fuji said still smiling

"Eh?!" the others except for Tezuka and Ryoma said

* * *

"Kusu… It's already dark. You're gonna pay for this Fuji Syuusuke!" I said 

Then I heard a roar/growl…

"This is just great. First I'm trapped, second it's dark and third there's zombie who is going to eat me alive." I muttered

"Hey, that zombie looks like from the 'High school of the dead' manga." I said

Growled the zombie. Then I looked for some things that are in my pocket calmly.

"For crying out loud. Why didn't I think of this before? I was just waiting here for nothing." I said when I found a cutter inside my pocket

Where did the cutter come from? We don't know.

Then I cut the rope and ran quietly…

While running…

"Thank goodness I read that manga or else I'd be dead by now. Sigh."

* * *

_**Author: hi, minna! I just survived from that ugly zombie. Anyway, maybe the next time I update, I hope that that chappie will be better than my other chappies. So, until next time, guys. Ja!**_

_Zombie in "high school of the dead"_ that zombie only reacts to sounds. That means it's blind, it can't see you. But when you make some noise be prepared to run quietly, or just run right away… don't forget 'quietly'.

_Ying Fa, Michiru, Riyan, and Merodi _ they are characters of some stories that my friends made…

Note: the 4 girls are from other stories, okay?


	7. Huh?

_**Author: Okay, guys. Sorry about the last chapter thing (to those who didn't like it). I just thought about giving myself a little break from this story but my conscience was bothering me if I don't update. So I made the previous chapter a little out of the story, well actually, it's really out of the story. So, do forgive me… (Keeps on bowing)**_

OKAY! BACK TO THE STORY but first let's have a review:

_Mayumi and Saeki are having their history class._

"_Where were you last night?" Saeki asked_

"_I was joining a party" Mayumi answered_

"_Oh… with Sengoku?" Saeki asked; Mayumi nodded_

* * *

**DISMISSAL**

"Dismissed, minna!" Kentarou Aoi, the freshman captain, announced.

"Hai." All replied except for Oji, their coach.

Afternoon practice was finished earlier than the usual, so did the Archery club (Mayumi's club). Saeki decided to, you know, ask-her-out.

Mayumi and Saeki coincidently met at the main entrance…

"Konnichiwa, Mayumi-san." Saeki greeted.

"Konnichiwa." The girl greeted back. "Earlier than usual, I see."

"Same goes for you."

"Well…"

"Mayumi-san…"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Can I a-ask-" Saeki was cut

"Mayumi-chan! Konnichiwa!" a certain someone butted in, I mean, greeted.

"Sengoku-san? What are you doing here?" Mayumi asked

"I just want to walk with you today."

"Oh."

"Huh?" Saeki thought.

"Lucky! So, Ikusei!"

"Saeki-san, mata ashita." Mayumi waved her left hand.

"Uhhh… Mata ashita." Saeki said still can't believe what was happening.

* * *

Mayumi and Sengoku 'go out' together the following days…. Which gave Saeki no chance on asking Mayumi out… During classes, Saeki asked her if she has something to do on the afternoon. She then replied that she has a walk with Sengoku. So that means 'No'. Poor, poor, Saeki…

* * *

_**One day… someday… whatever…**_

**After AFTERNOON PRACTICE…**

"Today's practice is quite tough, isn't it?" Kurobane Harukaze, known as 'Bane', said.

"I don't really care." Kisarazu Ryou said.

"Leprechauns are good at tennis…..pffft." Amane Hikaru, known as David, gave a stipid pun and held his puny laughter.

**KICK!**

"Shut up, David." Bane said with stressmark

"TOOOOTTTT!!!" Itsuki Marehiko's nose blew…

"Minna-san, let's go and buy something to eat!"

* * *

**ON A RAMEN SHOP**

Everyone is having fun… well, maybe not everyone…

"Ne, Saeki-chan, daijobuka?" Kentarou asked his vice-captain

"…"

"Saeki?"

"…"

"Saeki-KUN!" Kentarou screamed but not in an idiotic tone… it's more on 'listen-to-me-bastard tone…

The others turned to the 2…

"Huh? Wha-a-yeah." Saeki replied

The others gave a confused brow except for David...

"Really, guys. I'm fine." Saeki assured them

"I don't think you are. And I think buchou and the others are thinking the same way." Bane said.

"Really?"Saeki asked them. The others nodded…

"Oh." Saeki said. He leaned on the wall behind him and stared at the ceiling… He then stared,….stared,…. Stared,…. And just stared at the ceiling… while the others just stared at him, 'is he sick?' they asked themselves.

"Did something happened, Saeki?" Bane broke the silence.

"…"

"Saeki?"

"…"

"Not again." Kentarou thought, as he hit his forehead…

"Oi! Saeki!" Bane said with stressmark due to irritation…

"…" Bane was sooo irritated… so…

**KICK!**

(Gasp)

"I-itai. Oi, Bane, why did you do that for?" Saeki asked, rubbing his head.

"I kept calling you for about a minute ago, you rock."

"Oh."

**-SILENCE-**

"ROCK?!" Saeki asked exaggeratedly.

"Yeah, ROCK! Bacause you suddenly freeze like a rock!"

"…"

"WHAT?! Isn't it true?!"

"I-AM-NOT-A-ROCK!!!"

"Oh.. Now you're answering, eh?"

"Yeah! Because I am NOT A ROCK!" Saeki said; he felt a hand on his right shoulder. Saeki turned around and found Kisarazu Ryou…

"Saeki… you're totally and seriously… sick…, aren't you?" Ryou said to the vice-captain

"No. Why?" Saeki defended himself…

"You're not yourself lately."

"I'm perfectly fine."

"No, you're not." Marehiko joined in…

"Yes, I am."

"You're not!" the others erupted like a volcano

"Yes, I am!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

"See. You admit it! You're not!" Kentarou pointed

"I did not!" he felt a hand on his right shoulder AGAIN. Saeki turned and found Ryou AGAIN…

"You got girl issues, don't you?" Ryou asked

"EH?!" others screamed in confusion… wahahahah!!!

* * *

"ACHOOOO!!!" Mayumi sneezed while walking home…

"Daijobu, Mayumi-chan?" Sengoku asked

Yes… their together… just bear with it if you don't like them to walk together…

"mmm…" Mayumi nodded

"Looks like someone's talking about you…" he teased

"EH?! Impossible"

"Right…" in a 'like-I-believe-you' tone

"Cut it out, will yah?" she said calmly

"Hai… hai… hai."

**-SILENCE-**

"Ne, Mayumi-chan," his voice suddenly turned serious

"mmm?" Mayumi looked at the orange-haired boy

* * *

"Mou… I wonder how Mayumi-chan is dong." Eiji asked himself 'aloud'

"What are you worried about, Eiji-senpai?" Momo asked his senpai.

"Mayumi-chan"

"I thought she's not helpless." Fuji butted in.

"She isn't."

"Then why are you worried?" Momo asked

"Well…"

* * *

"WHAT?!!!" ryou asked in surprised…"Of all the girls in the world, why her?" he added.

"How should I know?" Saeki replied. Feeling a little embarrassed because of Ryou's reaction.

"Do you really have to ask that?...pffft." David said and as his usual self he just made a pun… or was it?

**KICK!**

"Was that even a joke?!" Bane said after he kicked his kohai behind the head.

"No. I was serious."

"Oh, owari."

"Pffft.." David held his laughter, and made a stress mark appear on one side of Bane's forehead.

**KICK!**

"TOOOOTTTT!!!!" Itsuki's nose blew. "Ne, I don't get what you guys are talking about."

"Me too." Kentarou said

"I don't think you need to know." Ryou stated

"What? As the captain of Rokkaku boys tennis club, I must know what's going on with my co-playes." Kentarou exclaimed.

* * *

"WHAT?! Oh no, no, no, NO I TELL YAH!!!" Mayumi said exaggeratedly…

"Oh, come on, Mayumi-chan." Sengoku gave his puppy eyes…

"Don't give me those eyes."

"…" still giving the puppy eyes…

"What part of 'NO' don't you understand?!"

"…" still doing it…

"No!"

"…" still doing it.

"If you think I'm gonna fall for that, huh, think again." Mayumi said as she crossed her arms…

"… and I thought it would work like last time." Sengoku pouted In disappointment while Mayumi, on the other hand, smirked. "…I know how to settle this…" Sengoku added and grinnned while Mayumi's smirk or smile worn out…

"I don't think I'm going to like this one bit." She thought. "What?" She asked Sengoku wearing an 'I-don't-think-I'm –going-to-like-this' face.

* * *

"Saeki?" Fuji asked Eiji about what Eiji told them earlier…

Uhhhmmm… about what they were talking about earlier… I'll know them as the STORY progress…

"Yeah." Eiji nodded.

* * *

_**Author: how was it? Was it okay? Please tell me so that I can improve my ways of writing stories… please review… thank you very much to my reviewers… I appreciate your reviews…. And please support my fic… thanks…**_


	8. Of all the girls in the world

**SAY WHAT?!?**

**Chapter 8: From all the girls in the world? **

"I am of no help when it comes to that." Kentarou told his team.

"Then just keep quiet then, buchou." Ryou said.

"…"

"Uh-oh, Ryou, you've done it." Itsuki said. Kentarou's tears were starting to fall.

"Mattaku… me and my big fat mouth." Ryou thought as he walked towards their buchou…

"Buchou, wari… Gomenasai" Ryou apologized.

"DAijobou, DAijobou" Aoi replied.

"Uh… minna, can I ask you a favor?" Saeki asked.

"Nani?" they replied.

"Could you keep this a secret?"

"…"

"Onegai." He begged.

"Sure…"

* * *

"**NANI?!?"**Mayumi screamed making the whole neighborhood experience an earthquake.

"So? What will it be?" Sengoku asked.

"You're so unfair."

"I'll take that as a 'Yes'"

"Like I have a choice."

* * *

"Hey, Momo. Don't cha have a walk with Tachibana's younger sister?" Eiji reminded at the same time teased as a smirked formed in the sides of his cat-like mouth.

"Oh… I almost forgot. Ja!" he went off leaving a baffled Viper and a grinning Eiji stand there.

"Why would someone go out with Momoshiro?" Viper asked as he turned back to Eiji after a slow 30 seconds.

"I believe the question is 'why would someone go out with you?' Mamushi…" an amused but slightly pissed off voice came from behind.

"**NANI?!?"**

"That was fast." Ryoma said as he squinted at Momoshiro who was just behind Kaidoh.

"Wari, minna… An-chan just cancelled it a while ago."

"She canceled it because she figured that she was taking a walk with a loud porcupine." Kaidoh said.

"NANI?!"

* * *

The Rokkaku boys tennis regulars were walking their way home. They parted ways and there were two left. And those were Saeki and Ryou. They both walked the dirty streets of the neighborhood.

"Ryou, about your reaction earlier…"

"Huh? What sort of reaction?"

"After I told you about the 'issue'?" Saeki said as he made a hand sign meaning 'Quote'.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"What was that for?"

"I was just surprised, that's all. I mean… from all the damned beautiful girls in the world, why _her?"_

"W-what do you mean?"

* * *

You're taking advantage Sengoku! It's hardly fair! You're wearing pants while I'm stuck here wearing a mangodamned skirt! And a short one to be exact!"

"Then change."

"Thank goodness I was bringing my rubber shoes with me… and yeah… got to love the shirt though…"

"How about the skirt issue?"

"' wearing shorts…"

* * *

"Fujiwara's like a monster." Ryou said as he found the ground a bit interesting.

"Not really"

"She's a total boy hater"

"Then how did she get along with me and well… our classmates?"

"…"

"See you-."

"I don't know… but rumors do say so…"

"They're just rumors, Ryou. They're not real…"

* * *

"ACHOOOOOO!!!" Mayumi sneezed and missed the tennis ball she was after the past 5 seconds ago.

"HURRAY! I LUCKED OUT!" Sengoku cheered as imaginary confetti popped out of nowhere.

"TSE…" Well… Sengoku won. 7-5

"I guess I'll be doing 'that' starting tomorrow, Mayumi-chan."

"Argh…Whatever. Do whatever you want. I'm going home."

* * *

THE NEXT DAY…

KKKKRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!

* * *

_**Author: Soooo sorry for the oh so very, very, very, very late update... I got pretty hooked up with school and so did my beta. Yeah i know the chapter is SHORT! very, very, very short... sorry for that too. my beta sent me only this file; i guess she cut it... sorry again. My beta's quite lazy this past few weeks, sorry for that. I'm already working with chapter 10, so don't forget to read and review...please; i really need them. And yeah, it's a cliffie (the chapter)**_

_** Almost forgot, about the previous chapter , sorry for that too; my beta got into the story that she FORGOT to do her job like-- checking the GRAMMAR! (stupid grammar), the spelling, and others... sorry. Don't worry I already sent her to hell but she's fine now... **_

_**OVERALL: gomenasai!!!! **_


	9. Did I just hear right?

**Say What!**

** Did I just hear right!**

_"thoughts"_

* * *

The next day… 

In the ever calm and peaceful Fujiwara residence, Mayumi picked up the phone that rang as if it were to explode if it was left unanswered for another ten seconds. She sighed before greeting the caller with a "Moshi moshi?"

"Ohayou, Mayumi-chan!" _"Great…" _Mayumi thought to herself after she heard the voice of the person on the other line.

"Sengoku, Don't try to piss me _yet_ on a very beautiful early morning because I might eat you alive!"

Mayumi heard Sengoku chuckle and by that she growled a little bit.

"Anyway, today's the first day our deal yesterday would take effect…. Wish me luck…"

"Get bent."

"You're so mean as ever…" and then he hung up leaving Mayumi nothing better to do but sigh…

* * *

The class 3-4 which is Mayumi's class is having arts. Mayumi doesn't like the subject since she damned well sucked at it. Anyway, they were having this by Pair on the school grounds (truth only knows why). Again, Saeki and Mayumi were paired up.

Mayumi and Saeki decided to stay under a big tree near the Rokkaku play ground, which was inside the campus, of course.

The theme of their work this week was a propos about the 'past'. That's way Mayumi and Saeki positioned themselves there. Mayumi was at Saeki's right and the playground was also on Mayumi's right.

"The breeze's so nice today, ne, Saeki-san?" she asked as the wind met her face. She had missed their small talks together and now was a perfect time to catch up.

"A-yeah… it's nice…" Mayumi caught Saeki's tentative reply which aroused her curiosity.

"Koujiro, is there a problem?"

Saeki's eyes widened. Now that was what he wasn't expecting. Mayumi just called him by his first name. He actually thought that the world could in fact crumble. He turned his head to stare at her wide-eyed.

"D-did you just…"

"Did I just what?" _"Saeki never stutters, does he?" _Mayumi thought_  
_

"Call me by my first name?"

"I did?"

"That's why I'm asking."

"I don't think so. Are you sure?"

"I'm asking the questions here."

"Okay, okay, I was just kidding. Yeah, I did. I did call you Koujiro. Man, you've changed a lot in just a short period of time. You've become a little bit more childish. Guess you got it from me." Then she smirked at him.

Saeki was still speechless. Mayumi never calls him by his first name. They were childhood friends but she never used it at all. Sometimes he wondered if she knew he even had a first name. But he felt good. He was going to make her use it all the time.

"Let's start our work; we're kinda wasting time here."

"…Uh…Sure…" then the pair began drawing.

Mayumi has already started sketching while Saeki, on the other hand, was still deciding on what to draw. Saeki leant on the trunk of the tree and sighed. Later… Saeki turned his gaze back to Mayumi… he looked at her left wrist and found the bracelet Mayumi found days ago. Saeki smiled. The wind brushed Mayumi's face and made her hair dance with it. Saeki, seeing this, blushed since he has never seen Fujiwara Mayumi like this. Saeki then started sketching.

* * *

"At last! I'm finished! Koujiro…" Mayumi asked as she looked over to her left to see Saeki fast asleep. His head was slightly tilted to one side and his mouth was somewhat gaping. His sketchbook was now laying on his chest and his pencil was nowhere to be seen. Mayumi wondered what he drew about his 'past'.

"Hmm…" she knelt down beside Saeki and gazed upon him; marveling at how he looked when he's asleep. He seemed so peaceful; she has never seen him like this before. He was like a boat sailing on a calm sea. Wavelets rock him to wonderland; to a place where frown were illegal and a happily ever after was a right not a privilege. Mayumi unconsciously leant closer to Saeki and peered on his drawing. Her eyes widened at what he drew. Her mouth opened just as she saw two sleep-filled sapphire-blue eyes that grew wide when it met her two equally startled mint-green eyes.

* * *

_Saeki has already started sketching after he decided on what to draw. Strokes over here and over there. Shades down there and lines over here and VWUALA! He was finished. He glanced upon Mayumi again and smiled since she was so absorbed on her drawing. He leant on the tree trunk and another gust of wind blew against them. His eyelids grew heavy and the next thing he knew is that he dropped hid pencil and slept._

* * *

The silver- white haired lad felt something move beside him and he noticed something tugging at what ever he was holding. He fidgeted and opened his eyes only to see startled mint-green eyes looking straight into his own taken aback sapphire eyes. He saw her clutching his sketchbook loosely as her mouth agaped.

"M-Mayumi-san?"

"S-s-saeki-san…"

Mayumi saw the disappointment in Saeki's eyes as soon as she mentioned his name. She was caught red-handed and she didn't know what to do next.

Saeki's eyes switched from 'shock' to disappointment. He was expecting her ti call him by his first name again.

* * *

_**Author: hi guys… finally chapter 9 is done, and yeah, it's another cliffie… I have some bad news… uhmmm… I think the next chapter will be posted late again since I still have a game or tournament next week (soo sorry).**_

_**I would love to thank my reviewers especially to **__unknown player _(thank you for reviewing, it really means so much for me. The reviews just tell me that there's really someone reading the story. Once again… thank you).

_**And to my beta: thank you for editing this chapter… can't wait to send you chapter 10**_

_**-Kari-**_


	10. Just who are you anyway?

**Chapter 10**

"Ne, anou- Mayumi-san…"

"H-hai, Koujirou-san?" Mayumi backed up a little to give each other some respective distances.

"Can I ah…"

"What?!" Mayumi asked as she pretended to put a little shading to her drawing.

"Um..CanIaskyouout?!" Saeki blurted out hurriedly.

"What?" Mayumi inquired not hearing him very well.

Saeki clears his throat.

"Can I ask you out this afternoon?"

…

…

KKKRRIIING!!

"We better go, Koujiro-san…"

Saeki dropped his head slightly. Damn, the bell must ring at a very good part, too. Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn…

"Really?! There's gonna be fireflies tonight?! Oh! That would be great!!" a girl classmate squealed.

Mayumi and Saeki both stared at each other. Mayumi blinked and then Saeki raised an eyebrow.

"There's gonna be fireflies tonight?!" Saeki asked even before he knew he opened his mouth.

"Yes, Koujirou-san. I'll show them to you after classes." Mayumi said as she went inside the building hoping that Saeki knew what she meant.

"_Yes, Koujirou-san. I'll show them to you after classes." _was a 'Yes' to Saeki's ears.

Saeki smiled. Now, Saeki knew that Mayumi accepted his offer. They were going out after classes.

Yes, your ears or maybe eyes weren't deceiving you, Saeki actually asked Mayumi out. For such a long time he finally did it even though he was somewhat a _coward_ before; enough about that, the important thing is, HE DID IT!! But what about Sengoku? Didn't he and Mayumi have a deal yesterday? What will Mayumi do?

* * *

It was a beautiful yet hot late morning in Yamabuki Middle School. The class 3-7 (Sengoku's class room), for some reason, was given free time by their teacher. The girls chatted; boys played something that even I don't know, and Sengoku did his usual bustle – flirting. Yes, Sengoku Kiyosumi flirts, he did first appear in the series chasing pretty girls, right? I guess, he loves pleasing beautiful and pretty ladies but that doesn't mean that Mayumi is cute, pretty, or beautiful, okay? Mayumi's just an ordinary girl that has a nose, a pair of eyes, a pair of ears, has a mouth and whatever that a normal human being has.

KKKKKRRRRIIIINNNNGG!!

The school bell rang, which means… IT'S LUNCH TIME!! My favorite subject! Anyway… after the bell rang, the students stood up and went their way to the cafeteria. During this time of the day, there's only one person left in the room… and that person is the one and only Sengoku Kiyosumi. Sengoku decided to take a nap since he was tired from the match he had with Mayumi yesterday. His leant on his desk in front of him; he also used his arms as substitutes for pillows, his eyelids felt heavy until he surrendered and he drifted off to a light slumber. He remembered the match he had yesterday, and smirked.

"7-5, huh? Mayumi-chan may not be a genius in tennis but she sure can rally." Sengoku leered again. He slept for a few minutes until…

KKKRRRIIINNNGG!!

Something rang, Sengoku woke up, wondering why was there a ring, and the school bell just rang few minutes ago. So why was there a ring? Sengoku then ignored this thought, went back to his nap…

KKKKRRRIIIIINNGG!!

Another ring was heard. This time Sengoku realized that it was his phone ringing continuously. He slid his hand inside his pocket where his phone was located, picked up his phone, flipped it open, and read who was calling him. Sengoku smirked when he happened to know who was calling him, which was Mayumi. He smirked before he answered the call with a "hello?"

"Good noon, Sengoku-san." Mayumi greeted her _friend_. Mayumi was apparently alone at the rooftop taking her lunch. She wanted to be alone that time to try and talk to her _friend_, Sengoku Kiyosumi.

"Ah, Mayumi-chan, Good noon." Sengoku greeted back. "This is an unusual happening. You were never the type to call first. I was usually the one to call you, not the other way around." Sengoku added. And he was somewhat having this grin on his face due to amusement.

"Just shut up, will yah?" Mayumi snapped.

"So what's the call for?" Sengoku asked his _friend_.

"About our deal yesterday, I don't think you can't start it this afternoon." Mayumi said in a low voice.

"Hmmm? Why is that?" Sengoku asked in curiosity.

"H-he asked me out." Mayumi replied, she felt her cheeks getting warmer.

"Oh." Sengoku replied in disappointment but actually grinning inside. He knew that this'll happen, and we will never know why. Even though he was really excited to _go out_ with Mayumi, he knew that this thing would happen; isn't he awesome? GO SENGOKU!!

Mayumi heard Sengoku's voice and it sounds like he's disappointed. "So?" Mayumi asked for an answer… nicely.

"Uh, it's okay." Sengoku said still in a disappointed tone, which made Mayumi feel a little guiltier.

"Are you sure?" Mayumi asked, making sure that she heard right. She hates it when she disappoints people no matter how small the deal or goal is, and even if the person is not that close to her… she just hates it.

"Yeah." Sengoku assured the girl he's talking to on the other line. "Is that all?" Sengoku asked

"Uh… yeah." Mayumi answered blankly. Sengoku smirked, why does he keep on smirking?! We'll never know.

"Well then, ja." Sengoku bid goodbye but before he hung up he waited for the girl's reply.

"Okay, later." Mayumi said with just a small smile cross her face, she still feels a little guilty about moments ago but what's done is done, right? Then she and Sengoku hung up. Mayumi gave out a huge sigh.

After he hung up, Sengoku let out a little laughter that lasted for about 1 minute. He didn't know that what he thought would happen. He never thought that Saeki would actually ask Mayumi out _today_.

* * *

While at the school of Rokkaku Chu.… Saeki's in deep thought, staring at some space. He's been on his seat the whole lunch break. He didn't even think to take his lunch. Let's try to know what's bothering him, shall we?

**Saeki's mind**

"_So, Saeki, sup?"_ a voice said inside Saeki's very_ clear_ mind. . .

"Huh? Who are you? And how did you know my name?" Saeki said still in his, now, blank mind…

"_I don't know. Your inner you maybe."_ The voice answered back, not giving a very clear answer, but what the heck, the hell he or she cares.

"My inner self?" Saeki asked

"_Uh huh."_ The voice agreed.

"But why does your voice sound like a girl?"

"_Eh? W-well, i-it's because… you're gay. Yeah, that's right, you're gay!"_ the voice responded.

"Wh-what?!" Saeki said in disbelief… "Me? Gay? How can that be? I like someone."

"_Uh huh."_

"And that person is a 'she'. So how can I be gay?"

"_Maybe you're a 'double blade'. Yeah, that's it!"_ the voice defended himself or herself.

"What's that?" Saeki asked the voice doesn't know what he or she is talking about.

"_You mean 'double blade'?"_

"Uh… I guess, yeah."

"_You don't know what a double blade is?"_

"I think I wouldn't be asking if I do, right?"

"_Right. Anyway, a double blade has 2 personalities – for example, you maybe, a guy; now, you may be a guy but maybe an hour later you'll turn into a gay. You know, stuff like that."_

The voice explained, leaving Saeki wanting to pretend that he didn't hear anything. How can Saeki be gay? Maybe he is… We don't know what he really is…

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a double blade."

"_But you already are."_ The voice concluded. Then silence grew around Saeki's mind. The voice doesn't like such deafening silence so he or she tried to break it but before he or she could say a word Saeki spoke.

"No really, who are you?" Saeki asked after some deep thought. The voice released a huge sigh before he or she spoke.

"_Heh. And I thought you would ride along. But what the heck, you didn't. Okay, I, myself don't know who I am… maybe you should ask the person who sent me here inside your head, which I don't even know who he or she is!"_ the voice exaggeratedly explained.

"Oh. So, what do you want me to call you?" Saeki asked politely, like he always does.

"_Anything is fine depends if it sounds good."_ The voice replied.

"How about 'Kazeri'?"

"_Ka-ze-ri? The name sounds like for a girl."_ The voice complained.

"Well, you sound like a girl." Saeki clarified.

"_Eh? And what's with 'kaze'?"_ the voice asked

"I can't see you but you exist just like the wind."

"_Oh… well said, Saeki-san. Okay, I'll take it." _

"What are you suppose to talk to me about anyway?"

"_I was supposed to ask how you are doing.'_

"I'm fine… I guess." Saeki asked, wondering what's the connection about him being okay… why kazeri exists anyway.

"You might be wondering what my work here is. Well, I'm your guide in everything that you do."

"How come you just appeared now, now that I've been living in this world for about 16 years now…?"

"I tried to get your attention before but you never noticed me. I shouted and shouted but you never heard me… man you really have some hearing deficiency."

"Oh-"

"Okay, enough with the chit chat. I totally forgot what was I suppose to tell you. See you later then. Ja."

**Back to reality…**

KKKKRRRRIIIINNNGGG!!

The school bell rang, telling the people in school that lunch break is already over. Students moaned, as they went back to their respective classroom…

Hours later, it was already 25 minutes before the last bell will ring… at the room 3-4

"Okay class, I'll be giving my remaining time to your arts teacher; so I'll go ahead, okay?" their math teacher announced.

"Hai." The students answered in chorus.

"Konnichiwa, minna." The arts teacher greeted after he walked in the room, carrying a pile of sketchbooks. "I'm just here to give you back your works. I was really amused when I saw some of your classmates' works."

Their teacher started distributing the sketchbooks… "Ne, Fujiwara san, please come over." The called girl did what she was told to…

"Nani, sensei?" Mayumi asked.

"I was just wondering, how did you improve this much in just one week?" The teacher said as he showed Mayumi her work. Mayumi's eyes widened...

"I-I don't know, sensei. I just did that and that's it. I never thought it could be this good." Mayumi said. Yes, she did see her work but not clearly since she was focusing on the others works… she was never a good artist, but now seeing her work, she felt that finally she can have an A in arts… and that's a good thing.

"Oh, okay." Mayumi's teacher said as he gave her sketchbook to her. "Saeki-san, please come." Then Saeki approached his teacher. "There's something bugging me, why is Fujiwara-san in your work?" the teacher raised one confused brow….

* * *

_**Author: So? How was it? Okay, just one thing to tell… PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!! Read and review!! Onegai… I just want to know if you liked it or whatsoever… Thanks also to those who reviewed the previous chappie, thanks again. That's it for this chapter… Ja ne..**_

_**To beta: Thank you for still editing even after I maimed you… Ja. **_


	11. Sketches and fireflies

_"Saeki-san, please come." Then Saeki approached his teacher. "There's something bugging me, why is Fujiwara-san in your work?" the teacher raised one confused brow…_

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Saeki was taken aback when he heard his teacher's query. Then he smiled innocently and decided to answer his teacher.

"I just figured to use Mayumi-san. Here in my work, Mayumi-san is like the one remembering her past." Saeki said as he went through his work.

"Oh. Is that so?" his teacher asked with satisfaction in his voice. Saeki nodded innocently.

"Okay. You may take your seat now." His teacher stated as he gave Saeki his sketchbook...

Saeki received his sketchbook and went to his seat. As he arrived at his seat, he found Mayumi staring out the window, leaning her chin using her left hand. Guess she's daydreaming, that's what Saeki thought.

"Ne, Saeki-san," Mayumi said in a low/ lazy voice, still staring out the window.

"Eh?" Saeki asked himself in thought, of course. He thought that Mayumi was daydreaming, he was stand corrected. "I thought you were daydreaming." Saeki said.

"I was." Mayumi replied as she turned and looked at her seatmate.

"…" Saeki was left speechless since Mayumi's reply was still processing on his damned mind.

"Oh yeah, of course you were." Saeki said as he scratched the back of his head, smiling nervously. How could he be stupid? He guessed that Mayumi wasn't daydreaming because she talked to him. Sigh.

Mayumi raised a confused brow. Why the hell was he acting weird? Oh well, the hell she cared. She knew Saeki as long as she could remember, she knew that he can _recover_ fast from acting stupid and all. "Uh… right. Anyway, I was about to ask you if… if I can see your work." She said calmly like her usual self. Yes! She's back to normal since this day started.

"Huh? My work?" Saeki asked and then looked at his_ closed _sketchbook. Should he let her or not? He was afraid on what her reaction may be if she finds out that he drew her. He shook his head, throwing those thoughts away. "Sure." Saeki agreed and handed his sketchbook.

Mayumi accepted it and placed it on top of her desk. She stared at the sketchbook, as she remembered what she saw this morning; when she tried to see Saeki's work, she saw a girl in his sketch. She thought it was her at first but refused to believe because she can't see the sketch clearly, then Saeki woke up. Damn it.

She opened the sketchbook and saw Saeki's previous works. Man they're awesome. Mayumi flipped the pages 'til she got to the page where Saeki's last work was located. Her eyes widened, she was right all along; Saeki did draw her. Mayumi looked through his sketch.

In the sketch, Mayumi was on the right side, Saeki only drew her head, looking at the sky, something like she was thinking something deeply. On the left side, there were 3 kids playing at the playground, 1 girl, and 2 boys. Mayumi thought that it was her and Saeki but who was the other boy?

"Saeki-san, who're these kids?? She asked, pointing at the kids in the sketch.

"Me, you, and Fuji." He answered calmly.

"Fuji?" She asked, raising a bemused brow.

"I guess I forgot to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"Fuji was also my childhood friend. When he was 5, he and his family moved to Tokyo. Days later, I met you when you arrived here."

"Is that so?" Saeki nodded. "Wanna see mine?" Mayumi added.

"… Sure…" he reluctantly agreed, while Mayumi opened her sketchbook.

Mayumi drew the whole playground and 1 boy and 1 girl. Saeki was amazed by the improvement of Mayumi's work. He congratulated her and she smiled, or rather, grinned as response. Then the bell rang.

"See you at the gate." Mayumi said as she stood up and left for her practice.

* * *

The sun was about to set, Mayumi was leaning on the wall beside the gate waiting for Saeki. Then someone popped out of nowhere which almost gave Mayumi a heart attack. She turned to the person who just popped out.

"Saeki-san, if you want me to die, you can just tell me." she said, still in the midst of recovery.

Saeki sweatdropped at the girl's action. "Sorry. I didn't mean to _kill_ you." He said and smirked, still staring at Mayumi wheezing. Mayumi recovered and smirked at Saeki, she got what the other human meant.

"Let's go." Mayumi said, started to walk; Saeki nodded.

* * *

Mayumi led Saeki to a river where the fireflies were said to appear when it gets dark. Only a few seconds left before the sun will vanish for the night. Fireflies and other people slowly appeared as the darkness deepened.

"Awesome." An amused Saeki said as he looked at the fireflies soaring around. Mayumi looked at him and smiled, glad that he was enjoying the prospect. Then a firefly landed on Mayumi's nose, she leisurely trapped the firefly with her 2 palms. She lowered her arms and looked at the firefly's light that went through between the fingers of her palms.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Mayumi asked Saeki, who was just beside her.

"Yeah… very." He agreed. Mayumi slowly opened her palms, letting the firefly fly out. Amused, Mayumi looked at the fireflies soaring around, just like what Saeki did a moment ago. Saeki smiled at the girl and then his face expression turned from slight amusement to surprise.

Saeki found Mayumi more attractive when the fireflies light touched Mayumi's face. Oh why did he see Mayumi at her best look, so far, today? He can't hold the feeling; the warmth of his face slowly gets warmer and warmer. He looked away, trying to get back to his normal self. He hoped that Kazeri will talk to him later…

Mayumi saw Saeki looked away and wondered what was wrong but then ignored it; maybe he just saw something that caught his attention. A flash of memory then popped out of her mind, when she saw an amused Saeki when he saw the sight of the fireflies. She looked down, felt some heat on her face. He looked much more attractive, she shook her head; what was she thinking? _Think of something else for once_.

"I think we should get walking, Saeki-san." Mayumi suggested and Saeki nodded. "But before we do that, let's take a picture." She added after she took out her phone, thinking that it might be a good remembrance for the night. Saeki was bowled over, didn't expect like this would happen, but hesitantly agreed.

"But what is it for?" he asked.

"For remembrance, we're friends, right?" she answered. They closed the gap between them; their heads were leaning against each other. Mayumi started counting from three before she snapped the shutter and captured their night together with the fireflies.

Mayumi let Saeki look at the picture for just a second, then she pulled it away and not looking at the image, she saved it. "Saa, let's go!" she said, starting to walk away from the river.

Saeki just followed her dumbfounded. He didn't see the picture well since Mayumi pulled it away before he could have a clearer look. Maybe he'll just ask her to let him see the picture tomorrow. Wait, he can't ask her. It's Saturday tomorrow, they can't see each other. Sigh. Better wait for Monday.

* * *

**So? How was it? Oh please tell me..!! So sorry if this one is short. I can't take the stupid descriptions, they're driving me nuts! So i stopped here, and I'm so happy that this chapter is done. . . I think the next chap will be late since i need to get my sanity back, so that's it... and I lost my comedy... MY HUMOR!!1 **

**Thanks to: **_rebeccasanfujieijilvr, unknown player, freakywinrylova141, -AcRaZyWriTer-, haganenocutie94, __red-jello04 and to those who are also reading this fic...  
_

thanks for your reviews guys!! love yah!! heheheh... don't mind me. . .

**PS: i hope i didn't disappoint you with this one. . .**


	12. The closet and the picture

**12**

**Soooo sorry for the very, very, very late update… hope you guys didn't lose your patience yet. But anyway here's chapter 12. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

After their so-called 'date', Saeki escorted Mayumi home. While on the way, the 2 love-birds- errrr… teens were talking about what happened at the river bank. And so, their stroll to Mayumi's house wasn't awkward at all.

"Well. We're here." Mayumi said before she stopped her tracks; then turned to her friend. And then, silence grew, they end up staring at each other. What's wrong with those 2? They often ended up like this. Okay, nevermind. Anyway…

"Thanks, Mayumi-san." Saeki said before he bowed, a very low one, if you may know.

"A-ah, don't mention it, ah-he-he." She said reluctantly. "It was just a coincidence that I kinda felt like watching the fireflies." She explained, waving her hands in front of her.

"But still," He countered. "At least you showed me where the fireflies were." He said and smiled.

"Okay then." She said, and shrugged. She doesn't know why Saeki would act like that; he's such a polite person unlike other people there.

"I guess I better get going." Saeki said and smiled.

"A-ah… Okay. See you then." She nodded. She wasn't blushing, okay?

"See yah." He said and jogged away, waving to Mayumi, who waved back. Actually, he still wanted to stay with her a little longer, but it might ruin the atmosphere; their time with the fireflies was already enough. At least they had fun. If he stayed longer, it might turn awkward. _Wonder what happened to Kazeri… hmmm…_

Back to Mayumi. Mayumi followed her gaze at Saeki until his figure disappeared. She then opened the gate and walked in leisurely. She really had fun at the riverbank, and she was actually going remember that memory. When she was already in the house…

"I'm home!" she called, actually waiting for a response, but none came; she sighed. _Guess I'm alone… again._ Every time she came home no one was there to greet her, they usually arrived home late. She sighed again and climbed up stairs to her room. When she opened the door to her room, as if on cue, her phone rang; she immediately answered the call with a "Hello?"

"Hi, Mayumi-chan!" the caller greeted.

Mayumi's left eye twitched. She knew that voice anywhere. The caller didn't have to be that loud, right? But to be honest, she really missed that voice. It was such a long time since they last talked. She sighed before she answered. "It's been a long time, hasn't it… Eiji?" she smirked.

"Hihihi…" the caller grinned. "Yeah."

"So… what's the call for?" she asked, wondering why he called. There must be a reason; and if ever he would say 'Nothing really.' She won't take that as an answer.

"Look inside your closet." He said on the phone.

_For what? Clothes are only present in there. _And that was true. Well, exclude the undergarments (she had drawers for those you know). "What is this about?" she asked curiously.

"Just do it." The person on the other line replied.

"Well, I don't know what's so surprising about clothes," she said as she was about to open the closet door. "But oka- AAAAHHH!!" was all that got out of her mouth after she opened the closet.

**--**

At the Sengoku residence, Sengoku Kiyosumi was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He suddenly felt that his bed was trembling; he sat up after knowing the bed trembled. "Was there an earthquake?" He then shrugged and lied down on his bed once more. He was wondering what happened to Mayumi's _date_ with Saeki. But what really bothered him was how Saeki asked Mayumi out. He laughed a bit, thinking for some ways how Saeki asked Mayumi. He can't wait to ask Mayumi about that.

**--**

A panting Mayumi appeared in front of him. He just wanted to surprise her, he didn't really expect that that would be her reaction.

"Eiji, what the hell are you wearing?" she said between heavy breaths. She looked at her best friend from head to toe.

"Huh? Mayumi-chan, don't tell me you don't know what boxers are." The red-haired exclaimed, wearing a puzzled look. Yes, folks! He's wearing boxers and only boxers! He's half naked? Yes! A very big 'YES'!

"Damn! Of course I know what the hell boxers are! But why the hell are you wearing that?! And why on earth are you in my closet?! And why were you posing like that Atobe guy when I opened the door?! Don't tell me you were making love with my clothes!!" she shrieked without her knowing.

Due to his best friend's yelling of question series, the red-head tennis player had a nose bleed and, later on, fainted. And yes, he was still half naked. And yeah, he could get a cold if Mayumi won't cover him.

* * *

His eyelids fluttered opened. He was there, lying on someone's bed, staring at the ceiling. He looked around, wondering where he currently was. He sat up and continued observing his surroundings. _What happened? And why am I in Mayumi-chan's room? _After the word 'Mayumi' he remembered what happened before he _passed out_.

Someone was opening the door, so, he turned to see who it was.

"Oh, you're finally awake." A tired voice came out of the person's mouth.

"Heheh… sorry to bother you, Mayumi-chan." He embarrassedly said, scratching the back of his head.

"Don't bother apologizing." She spoke before she threw him some clothes. The other teen wore a confused look. "You're half naked, idiot. Get dress, talk later." She said and went out of the room. She shut the door behind her and leaned on it. She sighed then smirked. How did she have a friend like Eiji? A _best friend_ to be exact… but whatever the answer is, she's lucky to have him around at times.

--

Once Eiji was done changing, he went downstairs. Mayumi was already done preparing the food for them in the kitchen. He approached her, "Mayumi-chan? Are you preparing dinner?"

"No, I'm not preparing. I'm already done with it." She replied, grinning. "Come on, let's eat. I'm starving. We're having Gyudon, by the way." She sat on one of the chairs, taking a bowl of rice, while Eiji did the same.

"Let's eat!" they said in chorus and dug in.

While they were consuming their food, "Hey, Eiji," she started. "What were you doing here anyway? Were you sent out by your parents?" She smirked. _Being sent out by his parents was impossible._

"No. I asked your mom if it were okay for me to sleepover and she agreed, so that's it." Eiji answered, and took another cut beef.

"Why do you even want to sleepover?" She made a bamboozled look. She could not believe that he thought about sleeping over. She smirked. Eiji really made her think that nothing can surprise her now… there were times that he was legible but there were just times that he was not.

"I don't know. It just crossed my mind, so I asked my parents' permission to sleep over here in the weekend; and fortunately, they agreed." He grinned.

"Oh." Was her reply and continued eating. She completely forgot about Eiji being in the closet.

As soon as they finished dining, they walked to Mayumi's room and talked.

"Why were you in my closet anyway?" Mayumi asked curiously. Well, who would even hide in other people's closet? As if someone was chasing him. But he said that he would be sleeping over, so no one was chasing him.

"Well. Actually, I was locked in there." He answered and let out a nervous chuckle.

Mayumi raised a confused brow. _How was he even locked up in there? And why was he wearing only boxers? And what about the Atobe thing? _She stayed silent and waited for the red-head to continue after she said "Explain."

"Well," Eiji started and told what happened while Mayumi positioned her chin on her hand and her elbow to her study table.

-FLASHBACK-

_Eiji arrived at the Fujiwara residence, and walked in. He found Mayumi's mom in the living room, watching television. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Fujiwara." He greeted._

_The woman turned around to see who was calling her. "Oh Eiji, what made you come here?" she asked and smiled warmly. _

"_Well, I was wondering if I could sleep over here." He answered. He wasn't afraid to talk to her since she knows him since Mayumi and he became friends._

"_Of course, not a problem at all. Did your parents know of this?" She smiled and asked._

"_Yeah. Don't you have work today?" Eiji asked curiously, wondering why she was home that early. He remembered that when Mayumi gets home, no one would be in the house but her._

"_Oh. I finished early; my boss told me that it's fine to go home, so I did." She replied, and turned her attention back to the show she was watching._

" _Oh. I see." He said. He was about to sit on one of the chairs in the living room when…_

"_Eiji, why won't you dress up first?" She suggested, not removing her gaze at the television._

"_O-okay." He responded reluctantly and went up to Mayumi's room. He didn't know where he would go so he went there. When he was already half naked or was already wearing boxers only, 2 little lads ran inside, pushed him inside the closet and locked him in. "Hoi! Hey, let me out of here." He said as he knocked the door as hard as he could._

_The kids then went out of the room and ran downstairs._

"_Hey, Eiji-kun!" Mayumi's mom called. "I have to go back to the office, my boss just called and she said it's an emergency. Take care of the house for me." She yelled and went out with the 2 brats._

"_Eh?"_

-END OF FLASHBACK-

"Oh. So, that's what happened." Mayumi spoke. That was all her reaction; she just had a dumbfounded look on her face. "But what about the Atobe thing?" she asked.

"I was bored." He grinned. His answer made Mayumi hit her forehead and another mental slap. "But all I know is that you don't have little 6 year old brothers. I thought you have a brother that is a year younger than you, another one next to him, and an older brother.

"Probably, my cousins came." She replied directly.

And they talked blah, blah, blah; not until Mayumi went out to drink some water. Eiji looked around the room due to boredom. And saw Mayumi's phone on the study table. He took it and opened every single file in it. One thing made his eyes widened; he was surprised with what he was seeing.

"I'm back" Mayumi said as she came in the room. She saw Eiji's eyes evolve into huge eyes like in the cartoons, which were looking at her phone. She wondered what was going on; so she sat on a chair and looked at him intently. "What's going on?" she asked.

The lad looked at her, his facial expression didn't change at all. "Ma-yu-mi-ch-chan," he started. His expression changed from surprised to a serious one. "How were you and Saeki doing?" he asked.

The girl was taken aback at the query thrown to her, she didn't expect such question. "Same. Why did you ask?" she countered.

"Look." He said and faced the phone to Mayumi. He saw her eyes widened, and he wondered why. _Hadn't she seen this picture before?_

Mayumi was there, wide-eyed and speechless. She didn't even move an inch. It's as if time stopped.

"Mayumi-chan!" he brought her back to reality. He has been calling her name for a while now. And he didn't know if the other teen was already out of dreamland.

"Huh? What?"

He made a face, "Care to explain?" and smiled slyly.

Mayumi clarified every single detail to her best friend (from school 'til she got home) … well, not really. She didn't tell him about the blushing thing and the like.

"Now, isn't that romantic?" he grinned. Finally, they got a little progress, he guess. "So, what's gonna happen next?" he grinned even much eviler. _Mayumi-chan isn't the only that is, at times, evil. Hihihi… _

"Nothing." She answered frankly. As if she really knew what's going to happen, she's no fortune teller, you know. She was already playing with the chair she just sat on (it had wheels, okay?).

"You 2 really make a good couple, don't you think?" Eiji said unconsciously, that was a very dangerous sentence. Once Eiji realized what he said, he squealed in terror. Once he's going to say that, Mayumi would explode and becomes violent. He squeezed his eyes closed and was ready to feel pain… but none came.

Mayumi was spacing out without her knowing at all. She turned to Eiji and saw his eyes were closed. She thought that he was already sleepy, so "I think you better get to sleep." She said.

Eiji opened his eyes and found Mayumi calm just like a moment ago. He sighed in relief. "Where is everyone anyway?"

As if on cue, "We're home!" everyone in the family called. And yes, they came home together… they just bumped into the gate or so…

"You were saying?" Mayumi asked the lad with her. "Where will you be sleeping anyway?" she asked. "Nevermind. I'll ask mom downstairs." She said.

"Okay… can we watch anime for a while? I think Naruto is on." He smiled. And he saw Mayumi smiled and nodded in agreement. Mayumi also likes anime… it's sometimes her time killer.

And so… they climbed down the stairs and greeted the rest of the Fujiwara family.

* * *

What will happen next in the Fujiwara residence? Find out in the next chapter… kekeke

* * *

**That's it for this chapter.**

**So sorry for you know what; and sorry if this chapter is not that interesting at all 'cause I think I need to slower things a bit. So, I'm so sorry.**

**-Bows a hundred times and continuing-**

**Don't kill me please!! I'll try my best to spark things, okay? Don't hate this please! It's fine with me if you hate me but not the story!! Kekeke…**

**Anyway… thanks for reading and don't forget to review!!**


	13. Changes

The two best friends climbed down the stairs to greet the rest of the Fujiwara family a "…Good evening…" in chorus. The rest of the family greeted back and then "…Youichi, Satoshi, you're here as well?" pounced on a distracted Eiji. Mayumi patted them on the head and held them down from Eiji.

"Aw…" Satoshi whined, "Mayumi-neechan, you're being mean again." Satoshi pouted. Why wouldn't Mayumi let them have some fun? He scoffed inwardly and chided himself, why would he even ask? It was too dangerous to even do so.

"Well," Mayumi smiled evilly at them before continuing, "You're suffocating Eiji, and I don't want my best friend to die yet. What would you do if I killed Youichi in your house, huh, Satoshi?"

"I'd kill you first before you'd do that." The kid retorted. "I don't want you to kill Youichi." Tears started to fall from his eyes and Mayumi smiled and carried him.

"There, there. I was just giving you an example of how I would feel if Eiji dies and in MY family's house to boot…" She intoned as she let Satoshi down. "Why don't you guys go and have dinner? We already ate ours."

"Sure." They said and smiled together before they went off. Satoshi stopped on his tracks and went back to Mayumi. Mayumi gave him a confused face but then bent down to ask him why he came back. "Thanks Mayumi-neechan." He said and kissed her on the cheek before he went off again.

She stood up and looked at her best friend "Kids." She muttered but then smirked. She wondered if she was ever like that when she was at that age. Eiji just stood there and smiled.

"Come on, Naruto is on by now." She said as she proceeded to the living room.

--0.0--

_A firefly landed on Mayumi's nose and she slowly trapped the firefly with her hands. She lowered her arms and looked at the firefly's light that lit between the fingers of her palms._

"_Beautiful, isn't it?" Mayumi asked Saeki, who was just beside her._

_Saeki found Mayumi more attractive when the fireflies light touched Mayumi's face. The ethereal light shown and emphasized the smoothness of her white skin and plus her eyes shone a brilliant green, almost like emeralds that glittered luminously on a very well-lit ballroom._

Thinking deeply, he laid on their couch in the living room. Saeki allowed himself to enjoy the memories he had with the girl he liked that night. When he discovered that Mayumi was more attractive when the fireflies touched her face, he wondered how more attractive she could actually get.

"_For remembrance, we're friends, right?" _

Friends? Is that all she could think of him? A friend? He thought. Why did he realize it just now? It kinda hurt him after remembering what happened, her telling him that they were _just_ friends. No more than that. What was the use of asking her out if she only considered them as friends? He sighed. He did not know what to do. Would he continue asking her out? Or would he not?

"Hey, Kojirou," someone called upon him and threw a pillow at his face. "Don't you have any plans to eat dinner?" the person asked Saeki.

Saeki moved the offending pillow away from his face. "Sis. You do know that throwing that pillow at my face was totally uncalled for, right?" he said as he sat up on the sofa.

"Really? I didn't know." She said sarcastically and gave out a playful grin, which made Saeki sigh in defeat. "Come on, Mom and Dad are most likely to be waiting for us. They're probably hungry by now." She had lent her hand in front of her younger brother before smirking at him as he accepted it and got up. "You can tell me what is bothering you later." She said, turned back and walked to the kitchen.

Saeki was confused on what his sister meant but smiled and followed her to the kitchen anyway.

* * *

"Ne, Eiji," Mayumi called while playing with the chair that she was currently sitting on (the kind of chair that is used in the office and stuff, it also has wheels). "Don't you think that I, you know, changed?" she asked.

"Hm? Like what?" he contemplated before he could even think of anything, "Oh Yeah! You're prettier than the last time I saw you." He said and gave an innocent smile, or grin rather.

"No, that's not it. It's about my attitude. And don't ever say that again." She spoke. She really needed to know if what she thought was right, she thought that she had changed, and for her, it was not good at all. She didn't know why, but she had had a bad hunch about it.

"Hm? Less violent I guess." He guessed. Curious, he let her explain what she meant. He sat on the Mayumi's bed and order on a curt "Tell." which made Mayumi sigh.

"I was thinking about it though." She started. "When I had the time to actually remember what kind of person I was last year, I kind of feel like I am not me anymore." She explained.

"Go on." The tennis acrobat said with an amused smile. It seemed that Mayumi made him interested in the topic.

"Last year, I always prevented myself from talking to boys, may they be popular or not, unless it's important." She explained further. "Well, I guess Saeki was an exception since we were friends since kindergarten. He was the only_ close_ friend I had since first year. But after he confessed, I felt uncomfortable at times to talk to him; hence I talk to somebody else. And that's how I gained other 'guy' friends." She turned to her red-haired friend.

Silence filled the room; the amused smile was still plastered in his face without him knowing. The lass raised a brow, wondering what was going on with her company. Before she could say anything, he spoke up. "It's normal." His expression changed, from an amused smile to a playful grin.

"And how would you know?"

"I have no idea. But I heard Fuji talking about that."

"Say WHAT?! FUJI?! Are you serious?" she asked, bewildered. Who would have thought that THE Fuji Syuusuke would talk about this kind of stuff? She almost fell from the chair she was sitting on when she figured that Fuji talked about that… stuff.

He merely nodded, if possible, his grin stretched wider when he saw the other teen's reaction. It was PRICELESS! If only he had a camera, Wait- did he just act like Fuji?

"Yeah… He was helping a classmate, who had the same problem…" he said before muttering, "Women."

"So, you're saying that it's not bad to change? THIS kind of change?" she asked, putting the Fuji thing aside; the lad with her simply nodded in response.

--0.0--

"So, Kojirou, how's school?" his father asked him while they were eating their dinner.

"Same as always." He answered, as he took another scoop of rice and put it in his mouth.

"Found the girl of your dreams yet?" his sister asked. The query just popped out of her mind and she thought it might be a good topic, it was getting boring anyway. It had been a long time since she had fun, so why not giving it a try

He choked when he heard what his sister just asked. He was, then, given a glass of water by his mom. He gladly accepted it.

"Looks like I hit the bull's eye". Who would have thought that he had someone in his mind?

He drank water that was given to him and took some quick breaths "No, that's not it! It's just…" he paused, thinking of the right words to say.

"Don't be so defensive, Kojirou. I can offer you my help you if you'd want it." She grinned.

"No, I'm fine-"

"AHA! So you do like someone!" she exclaimed and pointed him abruptly at the same time.

"Now, Kochiyo, don't tease your brother." Their mother reprimanded. Seeing her daughter tease Kojirou made her happy though but she was needed to stop her if needed. She's very happy to see that her children still had a strong relationship with each other.

"Oh. Sorry, Koji." She said cutely, acting like a little 6 year old child. Teasing Kojirou was so much fun for her. She thought it was the only thing that could strengthen their relationship as siblings. She knew that Kojirou wouldn't make such a big deal out of it, because they were _that _close.

"Sis, can you please stop?" he begged. His face was at its boiling point, not because he was mad but because of embarrassment. Why would his sister act like that? Why? How can she even see through him that well?

"Okay, okay. But seriously, you can just tell us everything you know." She reminded him and continued eating.

"A-okay." He answered. Hearing those words coming from his sister said sure made him feel more embarrassed. When it came to this kind of stuff, he couldn't open up. Would he take his sister's advice? He sighed.

--0.0--

"Shut up, Eiji. Just shut up if you still want to have a family with your special someone." She said plainly. She wished she didn't say the things like her changing at all. Now, she's actually resisting the urge to kill her best friend due to annoyance. He's been ranting about changing her image for the past five minutes. _He sure knows about this love stuff._ He even said about wearing the clothes that she hates the most. _I mean, what's wrong with my image anyway? I don't look that bad, do I? _

"But Mayumi-chan-" he whined. Mayumi's image wasn't that stunning at all, so in order for her to attract- errr… to see more of herself, she was needed to change her image… or something like that. She should wear a tube top. Gross. It did not suit her, to be frank. Should she need a make-over or something? Why was he even acting like a girl? No. He was neither homosexual nor bisexual. But he thought that it would actually help his friend.

"No, Eiji. The problem isn't my looks, it's the one looking. I don't need to where those kinds of clothes, if they're even called that way, okay?" she explained to him patiently, not making the tone rude.

"Hmmm… you do have a point." He agreed, his right index finger touching his chin as he looked up at nothing in particular. He, then, turned his gaze back at Mayumi with a grin. "I like the way you dress anyway. It's simple, clean, and presentable, though it's only a collared t-shirt and jeans. If I can see you wearing a spaghetti top or the likes of those, maybe I'd freak out, or maybe that be the omen of the end of the world." He spoke.

"Yeah, same here." Was her response before her phone rang. The two of them quickly faced the ringing phone. They wondered who would be calling that late at night. Few more rings were heard before Mayumi answered the call. "Hello?"

--0.0--

He was now lying there, on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Was he spacing out? Was he bored? Or was he thinking of something? Or maybe someone.

His eyelids felt heavy, in order not to fall asleep yet, he sat up and slapped his cute/adorable/fine/beautiful- errr… handsome face. Staring at the wall in front of him, he spaced out without him knowing, obviously. He was just there spacing out, frozen like a statue, yet the next thing he knew; he saw a light in front of him. "Where am I?" he asked particularly to no one.

He walked a few steps forward and stopped when he saw a figure in front of him, a little far away though. He looked at it intently, guessing that it would be a person. The sight became a little clearer but not that much. He was right, it _was_ a person. _Who is that person?_ The person's face was blurry, so he couldn't really guess who it was.

"It's me, Mr. Adorable."

He blushed on the title given to him by the figure. "Ka-kazeri?" he guessed after hearing the figure's voice. If it was her, why was she there… with him?

"I thought you forgot about me, guess I was wrong… too bad."

"Why are you here? And where are we?" he paused and noticed something. "So, you really are a girl." He confirmed.

"Yeah, yeah, I just discovered that not so long ago. Anyway, how was your date? Or can you even call it one?" SHE asked, doubting if the event at the riverbank could be called a 'DATE'.

"Huh?" he spoke abruptly; Kazeri's question really surprised him, but not the second one. "I can't really call it a 'DATE' but I sure had fun."

"Idiot! YOU had FUN?! What about HER?!" Kazeri raised her voice, the tone was quite rude… but she was talking to Saeki Kojirou… THE Saeki Kojirou. She thought that Saeki could care less, and she was right.

"She said that she had fun when we were in front of their house." He answered nonchalantly, and was acting like his normal self.

"Good then. You should ask her out again, that's my advice for you. At least the atmosphere will still be there, even just a bit." She gave him her opinion… or was it even called one?

"I don't know," not practically certain about the idea.

"Shut up and call her!" she requested, more like commanded, the young lad.

"Ye-yes, ma'am." He responded and remembered something. "Hey, Kazeri. You sure remind me of my sister, but I can't open up to her about these stuffs. She said that I can tell her anything, but that didn't even cross my mind." He said and thought about his sister.

"Well, I don't really know your sister though but I think you can trust her, if that's what you lack." She said. _Once he can open up to his sister, my job will be done._ "Enough with the ado! just call her already!"

His eyes leisurely opened before he found himself staring at the ceiling. He was still a bit sleepy and so he yawned. Remembering what Kazeri said to him, he asked himself _was it just a dream?_ A few seconds later he had decided on what to do—if he would call Mayumi or not.

He turned his gaze on his bedside table, where his phone was placed. He picked it up and started looking for someone's name. Happy to see the person's name, he quickly pressed the call button and positioned the phone against his ear.

--0.0--

"Sure, I'll be there. Okay, tomorrow at 10, right? Okay. Good night." Mayumi put down her phone after talking to the person on the other line and sighed. Maybe she needed to get some sleep, she felt tired already.

* * *

**Finally!! Done with this chapter! And exams are also done!! I.am.so.sorry for making you, US, wait for this chapter to be posted. It's just that, school is troublesome and I'm somewhat scared of my classmates, especially my seatmate, and I just can't write this chapter when she's around. Don't ask. Really sorry again! T-T**

**So how was it? Is this chapter okay? Oh please tell me your comments. Constructive criticisms are very much appreciated. So push that 'GO' button for 'submit a review', and type down whatever is on your mind.**


	14. Boyfriend

"_Sure, I'll be there. Okay, tomorrow at 10, right? Okay. Good night." Mayumi put down her phone after talking to the person on the other line and sighed. Maybe she needed to get some sleep, she felt tired already._

---0.0---

"So, I did come a bit early after all." She sighed as she found herself waiting at an ice cream shop, taking few glances at her wristwatch. Was it just because she can't stand staying at the house, or was it because she was excited? She shook her head, not really agreeing with the last thought. Now what would she do, with her having a lot of time before 10?

"I guess having a food trip wouldn't hurt." She said and went to get some chow.

"Mayumi-senpai?" a certain freshman asked himself as he saw a teen—her hair was in mid-ponytail and was wearing a collared t-shirt, jeans and rubber shoes-- walking down the sidewalk, looking at one store to another. "It is Mayumi-senpai. MAYUMI-SENPAI!!!" he called out and called again.

She turned around to see who was calling her continuously. She even stretched her neck just to see who the person was. "Aoi-san?" she named the person, who was jogging at the same time waving at her cheerfully, with uncertainty.

He took some breather when he was already in front of her. "Good morning, Mayumi-senpai!" he greeted with a loud voice.

"G-Good morning." She greeted and bowed. _Did he just call me by my first name? We aren't that close, are we?_ How did he even know her? She doubted that she was introduced to him, then how?

"What are you doing in a place like this, senpai?" the first-year captain asked her.

"I-I…" she started. "I'm just killing time, that's all." She answered the freshman captain, a hint of surprise still in her voice. "How about you? What are you doing here?" she asked him, trying not to arise any awkward silence; but now that she thought about it, if it was Aoi Kentarou as her company then that would be impossible. She hated to say it but he's somewhat a loud mouth, no kidding.

"…and that's why I'm here." He finished explaining without her noticing. She didn't even hear the reason. Well, she didn't really care.

"Is that so? Ah." She said as she took a glance at her wristwatch. "Well I better get going. See you later, Aoi-san." She said as she raised her hand and jogged away.

-0.0-

"The mall will be open in a few moments, better get there fast." Mayumi said as she jogged her way to the mall. She stopped her tracks when she heard…

"MAYUMI-CHAN!!!" someone called her from behind.

"He's here already, I see." She said as she turned around. "Good morning, Sengoku-san."

--

"_Hello?" she answered the call after a few rings. "Sengoku-san? What's the call for?" she asked, wondering what the orange-haired chick boy wanted._

"_Want to go to the mall tomorrow?" he asked cheerfully._

"_Motive?" she asked the lady-chaser with suspicion._

"_Am I really that evil for you to ask that?" he asked in disappointment childishly. "I just want to go to the mall, but I don't have anyone to go with me, get it?"_

_She let out a sigh before answering. "Sure, I'll be there."_

--

"So, where do you want to go first?" she asked her company, not able to decide where to go.

He smirked when the girl asked her where to go. "No complains then." He said as he grabbed her wrist and dragged her with him.

"Wish I didn't ask." She mumbled, as she found herself inside a stupid salon, which was where Sengoku dragged her. She was sitting on a soft comfy sofa watching Sengoku talking to one of the employees, a young lady on top of that. _Flirting again?_

The lady that Sengoku was talking a while ago walked towards her with a hospitable smile. Mayumi had a bad feeling about it, but what else can she do? Seated on a chair, she found herself in front of the mirror as her hair was laid down, a cloth placed from her chest to her toes, and the lady had scissors on her hand.

Just when she felt her hair was being cut, she sighed. "Oh boy."

After the cutting, the shampooing, conditioning and the blow drying, the lady was finally satisfied with her work. She even told Mayumi some advices how to take _GOOD_ care of her hair. After that, they walked into the waiting room where Sengoku was reading some tennis magazine.

The lad looked up and saw a lady and a teen whose hair was brown, mixed with blonde. This was one of her unusual features because only seldom had those types of hair. And to tell you that this is natural was unbelievable. "Ummm… I'm sorry. Do I know you?" the orange-haired lad asked the brunette.

The brunette twitched upon hearing the lad's statement. "Don't you really recognize me, or are you pretending to not recognize me at all?" She even got more annoyed when he made a surprised, and fake, expression and said something like 'Mayumi-chan?! Is that you?! You look hot!' Is it legal for her to kill him right here, AND NOW!?

The lady giggled, happy how the girl's _boyfriend_ was, or so she thought. She just turned Mayumi's hair from an evenly cut to a V-cut. She also lightened her hair color a bit. And voila!

"Che… I didn't even want you to say that, idiot!" she exclaimed as she gave him her 'you-are-going-to-pay-this-right?' glare. The other teen just smiled with a nod.

"Now, what's our next stop?" the orange-hair flirt asked his companion for he was the one who chose first… just to make it a bit fair. The lass took sometime to think until finally she had the choice. The bookstore. "Reading romance novels too?" he inquired, just when they were walking in a certain bookshop.

"No. I'd rather read Sci-fi." The girl replied as she took some book from one of the shelves.

Sengoku looked at her firmly. _She really looks a lot better now_. Who would have thought with just a simple hair cut would make her look a LOT better? He took a random book from the shelf in front of him and opened it. He didn't know what the kind of book he just took until he realized that he felt his face getting warmer by the second.

It was a book that was not suited for teenagers, he was sure of it. Well, he hadn't realized that it was bad for him right now. It was, well, a book about *** with pictures at that. He just stayed at that state for a while without even moving, not even flipping pages. He was too surprised to even react.

"She has nice tits, don't you think?" he heard a very familiar voice. He's eyes widened when he figured out whose voice he just heard. Thanks to his reflexes, he immediately closed the book and hid it behind. He, then, turned to his companion, wearing a nervous expression.

"Ma-Mayumi-chan," he said in a timid voice. It was the first time he ever acted like that. It was the first time for him to see such book anyway, right? Oh, this was bad. He could feel a very dangerous aura around Mayumi, even though she was wearing an indifferent look.

The lass raised a brow. "What's the matter?" she asked. But he knew that she already knew what the matter was. He really felt nervous, but he kept his composure. Then he wondered what the other junior high-schooler was thinking.

"I already know that guys are perverts. So you don't need to act so nervous." She said indifferently. She never thought that Sengoku would read those kinds of books, though she knew that guys watch those stuffs. But why must it be at that place… with her around, as an addition?

"Don't misunderstand, Mayumi-chan. I didn't really mean to pick this book. It was by accident. Accident!" he defended.

"Oh. Anyway it's really fine, since males have to do _masturbation_." She said calmly, which made other people who were passing by slip, bump into walls and doors, and stare at her in confusion.

His jaw dropped when she said the word… 'Masturbation'. Now, _that_ was pretty embarrassing. "You really didn't need to say that aloud."

"It wasn't that loud, was it?" she merely said.

Sengoku sweatdropped. "Oh… if only you know. If only…" he murmured. He, later, heard a growl. He looked at Mayumi with a puzzled look.

"Eh?" Mayumi stated when she noticed her stomach growled. Silence then filled around them. None of them even move… there were a lot of stuff that needed a lot of time to understand. "Lunch." The two of them said in chorus. They smiled at each other, and went off after Mayumi bought a book.

-0.0-

"I'm not gonna let you win this time." the brunette provoked our lucky orange-haired flirt, who just smirked in return. After they took their lunch, they decided to go to arcade. And there they were, in front of the place they decided to go.

As they went in, many heads turned to them but then they ignored the gazes that were fixed on them. _What's wrong with these people?_ Mayumi thought. Catching attention or not, they went to their first stop in the arcade… and that's the _'basketball shoot'_.

Mayumi sighed in defeat when she saw their scores—the lad was leading 5 points. Why can't she beat him at things like this? She then heard him praising himself for a while, which reminded her of someone she saw in Tokyo. She really didn't know him, but somehow his personality really stood out, which was the reason why she never forgot about it.

"Next game." Her friend exclaimed after he had decided what to play next. Mayumi smirked, and followed her companion to where their next game was located.

It took them about 3 hours in the arcade. They really had a lot of fun in there, even though competition was there during the games. Both of them were bushed. They weren't only playing video games, but also physical ones such as the 'basketball shoot' and DDR.

While they were strolling on the hallways, an amused kid passed by them and was chased by a lady. The lady wasn't so young or old. They heard her calling out the little lad's name. She was tired alright. The kid made a U-turn and dashed towards the duo again. This time, he was circling them. Sengoku stopped the lad from running around by putting his arms around the younger one's stomach.

"Can you think of your mom for a while?" the teen whispered to the child, still holding him. The child's eyes widened by the teen's statement. "Look," Sengoku said as he gazed at the lady who was wobbling while walking towards them. "She seems tired."

The child looked at his mom who was a few meters away from them. "I didn't notice." he merely said. The two teens sweatdropped upon the kid's simple sentence.

"Can you behave properly? Not just now, but in the future also?" Mayumi asked, her gaze was still on the child's mother.

The boy looked up at her and nodded with a bright smile. "Yeah."

"Good. Then I'll buy you an ice cream if your mom won't mind." Mayumi spoke. Once the lady reached them, Mayumi asked permission to her if she could buy the kid some ice cream. The mother agreed. And so, they foursome went into an ice cream parlor. While the three were at the counter having their orders, the lady was resting on one of the chairs there.

While waiting for their orders at the counter, "Ne, nee-chan," the child started. Mayumi looked down at the brat. "Are you onii-chan's girlfriend?" he was referring to Sengoku.

"Eh?" she almost blushed at the query, or so she thought.

"Why is your face all so red?"

"Eh? My face is red? Impossible. Are you blind?" she was nervous alright. "And no. I'm not his girlfriend." She said right after she got her composure back.

"You know what. You can really make a good couple." The kid said.

_This brat is so young, but he can already think about those stuffs? What's happening to youth? _"Uhhh… Let's not talk about that right now, okay?" she said nicely to the kid.

"Why?" he asked, an innocent look plastered on his face.

"Let's just leave it at that."

"Oh. Okay." Understanding, the kid didn't ask any further.

"Thanks, onee-chan, onii-chan!" the kid waved at the couple farewell, while walking with his mom. They waved him back and walked at the other direction.

"That kid was smart." Her tennis player of a companion spoke with a smile curved upon is lips.

Mayumi smirked and looked up. "I guess you're right. But he's still too young to know about romance and stuff. Maybe his parents are still in the VERY romantic stage of their relationship, thus exposing him about such."

"Want a tennis match?" Sengoku inquired.

"No thanks. I'm kinda tired. Can we head out now?"

"Sure, sure. I'll walk you home." With that said the duo headed out of the mall and went home.

---0.0---

"Fujiwara… Mayumi, eh?" someone from afar said, watching the couple from afar. Then, he or she took a picture of Mayumi and Sengoku together.

--------- 0.0 ---------

**YES! I'm finally done with this chapter! ****Anyway, I'm really sorry for the oh so long, long, long update. I just can't find the time to type. I hope you guys will forgive me. And I also hope that you liked this chapter. I really worked hard on it.**

**And just to make some things clear... Mayumi does not know Atobe not even vice versa...  
**

**This is my only request for this chapter… PLEASE REVIEW! I'M BEGGING YOU! I can't just predict if you liked the chapter or not. So I need your opinions about it. PLEASE!**

**Oh yeah… **

**dare mo: **Thank you for the review. I'm glad you liked it. Hope you'll review again.

**unknown player: **Thank you for supporting this story! Even if the updates weren't that good, you still reviewed. And said whatever was your opinion may it be good or not so good. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

**RenYu:** Thanks for the long review. Well, she's not particularly THAT kind, but you can say that. Uh... yeah.

**haganenocutie94:** Thanks for editing!

**mechanicmaiden151:** It's already posted! So... REVIEW!


	15. Out of my mind

Once he got home, he went straight to his room and lied on his bed. He was tired alright, but that was not the reason why he felt down. One could say that he was depressed. Well, he WAS depressed, definitely.

"Kojirou," his sister, who was just outside his bedroom door, called out. "Are you okay?"

He stayed quiet for a while, listening his sister calling out his name. He stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. He, then, sat up and walked towards the door when his sister finally said "If you're not going to open this damn door, I'll kick it until it's lying on the ground." Her tone was merely plain but it was not gentle also.

"Is there anything you want, Chiyo-nee?" his voice was tired, and so was his expression. All he needed was some time alone.

"Yes." She started. "You." She then pushed him inside and let him sit on his bed. She took a chair and sat on it. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing. Really." He replied, convincing his sister to believe him. "I'm just tired."

Hearing his brother's reply, Kochiyo looked at him in the eyes and sighed. "Fine. But there are times that I feel like…" she said as she stood up and walked towards the door. She halted and looked over her shoulders. "You don't trust me anymore." With that said, she opened the door and went off.

He dropped his upper body on his bed as he let out a breath and covered his eyes with his arms. A second later, he gritted his teeth. _It's not that. I just don't get it._

--

_He was walking with his teammates at the mall. They were definitely enjoying themselves. They went to the arcade and had some fun there. Laughter filled the group. While waiting for his turn in playing a certain video game, Saeki saw some of the people around looking at the arcade's entrance. He followed their gaze, his eyes widened. They were watching at Mayumi and Sengoku. _

--

He clenched his fist. Why did he even let this get to him? No wonder she didn't accept his invitation. But why did he feel angry? He didn't have the right to feel that way.

--

"_Hello?" Mayumi answered after hanging up from the last caller._

"_Mayumi-san. It's me, Saeki. I was wondering if we could see each other tomorrow." He spoke, though nervous when he said the last statement._

"_Sorry, Saeki-san. I have to go somewhere." She explained._

"_Oh. It's okay. It's not really important anyway."_

"_I see. Wait. Don't you have a trip with the regulars tomorrow? I just overheard but I'm not totally sure."_

"_Oh yeah. Thanks for the reminder. I totally forgot about it. Thanks."_

"_No problem."_

"_I better go. Good night." He waited for her to reply._

"_Sure. Good night." And so, they both hung up._

--

She sure was happy at the mall… with Sengoku, that is. He even remembered what she said to Sengoku back there. _"It's really fun to have you around."_ He guessed she was better off with Lucky Sengoku. So he was the unlucky one then? Nevermind. He was thankful enough, though, that his teammates didn't see the pair. If they did, it would turn out awkward.

Maybe he was just thinking too much with this love thing. _I think it's better to focus on tennis first. The Nationals is just at the corner._ With that decided he went to the dining room and had dinner with his family.

---0.0---0.0---0.0---

Monday came. It was supposed to be the day when Saeki would ask Mayumi about the picture they had taken last Friday. But that thought was completely forgotten by the silver-haired tennis regular right after he decided to focus on tennis first.

During morning practice, everyone in the courts and the spectators were silent, looking at a certain vice-captain in the boys' tennis team. It felt unusual. There was something wrong. They looked at their vice-captain training himself pretty hard. Sure, Saeki practiced hard but this was another thing. They had never seen him this focused before. It was as if no one was around him.

"Ne, why is Saeki acting so strange? Nande? Nande?" Itsuki asked his co-regulars who were still staring at their vice-captain doing his forty-eighth lap.

"Yosh! That's the spirit that we should show! The Nationals is just around the corner! So, let's do our best!" the regulars turned to where the voice was coming from, and found their captain, Aoi Kentarou, walking towards them.

"Saeki-san must be excited. Come on! Practice! Practice!" the freshman captain spoke cheerfully as he walked to the courts, while the others stood their ground.

"Now that Kentarou mentioned it, the Nationals is just at the corner." Kurobane spoke, as he held his chin with his right hand.

"But still. Don't you guys think there's definitely something stra-" Kisarazu exclaimed by was cut as another person butted in.

"What's the delay there?" the person was Saeki. "We can't win if everyone's not in their best condition." He told them. "Kentarou, don't just leave everyone spacing out." He told his captain who just smiled in return.

The other regulars looked at each other, and then sighed. "Guess we don't have a choice." Kurobane smirked, as he looked at his teammates who also smirked as their reply.

"Yeah. The Nationals is our priority for now." Kisarazu Ryou said.

David was supposed to say something but Kurobane kicked him just before David could say another pun.

"No puns. They will ruin the mood." His doubles partner said, as he stared at their vice-captain. He started walking and the others followed him to the tennis courts.

Morning practice was not supposed to be hard… too hard. But when the regulars got to their class, their bodies were heavy like lead. By means, they overworked themselves, which Oji did not mind at all.

Nothing much happened in the first period. Somehow, the teachers were getting a bit loose, which the students were very curious as to know why. Saeki was leaning his chin over his left hand, and sighed. Once their teacher dismissed them as first period was done, Saeki put down his head on his desk. He wanted to sleep. His eyelids were heavy; he fought to keep himself awake but was defeated… and had some beauty sleep.

Mayumi_,_ who had just finished tying or fixing her hair in a ponytail, glanced at him. She smirked.

Just when second period ended, most of the students stood up immediately to go to the cafeteria and buy some snacks. Saeki stayed on his seat irking, while Mayumi was searching for something in her bag. Glad to finally find the thing that she was looking for, Mayumi smiled and took it out.

Mayumi stood up. "Saeki-san," she called lad looked at her direction. The lass just gave him an envelope; and without saying another word she went out of the room, leaving the silver-haired teen clueless.

Saeki followed his gaze at Mayumi, wearing a bemused look. Once she was out of his sight, he stared at the envelope that he had received. He was curious what the envelope contained but instead of opening it, he sighed and placed it in his tennis bag. Guess he was a bit frustrated about what he saw last Saturday.

And so classes ended. The students stood up and went out of their rooms. Some went out of the campus immediately, some stayed in the cafeteria, some attended their club (mostly sports), and many others.

The tennis regulars were in the locker room, as they were changing to their tennis attire. Saeki took something in his bag which made the envelope fall on the floor. Instead of Saeki to be the one to notice the fallen object, it was Ryou instead. He called out to Saeki once, but received no response. Somehow, the silver-haired teen was deep in thought. Ryou stared at the envelope at hand.

After staring at the envelope for a while now, Kisarazu opened it… his eyes widened. _What the hell-?!_ He did not know what to say, just seeing the content of the object that he was holding already made him daze off.

The other regulars, except for Saeki of course, noticed what was going on with Kisarazu. So, they neared him and followed his gaze. Same as Ryou, their eyes widened, well except for Kentarou who was bouncing happily and Itsuki who did not understand why the others were in shock.

A lot of questions were in the other regulars head by now. Saeki turned to them when he realized that the clubroom turned silent. His teammates were gathered at the corner of the room, then saw one of them holding a very familiar item. It was the envelope that Mayumi gave him this morning. He sighed. He stood up and walked up to them. "May I have it back, Ryou?" he asked his teammate calmly.

They stared at him for quite a while. Ryou sighed and gave it to Saeki who nonchalantly accepted it. _Won't he ask what's in it? Maybe he knows already._ He wanted to ask if Saeki knew what was in it. _He doesn't seem happy about it, if ever he knows. Did something happen?_ Random questions and thoughts appeared in his mind.

"Everyone," Saeki's voice snapped him back to reality. "I almost forgot to tell you… We will have a meeting with Oji once we finish changing. Hurry up, so we can start our practice." Saeki finished and went out after he placed the envelope in his bag once again, but this time, he made sure that it was well-placed.

The others' blinked about 2 times. "He's all fired up about the Nationals." Kurobane smirked.

"About the thing inside the envelope,"

"Let's just ask him about that when we have time. Maybe that time will be after the Nationals… we don't know." Bane exclaimed.

And so, they all went out, met with their coach and attended the afternoon practice.

---0.0---0.0---0.0---

"Eh? Training camp?" Mayumi inquired as she turned around to see the person she was talking to. It was the day after she gave the envelope to Saeki. She was just on her way to her class, carrying some books.

"Yeah. Oji told us yesterday." The person answered.

"Uh… okay. But why are you telling me this…, Kurobane-san?" she sweatdropped.

"I just thought that Saeki hadn't told you yet." He scratched the back of his head as he replied.

"Oh. So what's wrong if he won't tell me? I don't think that's much of a big deal." She said.

"Nothing really. But aren't you two… uhmmm…" Kurobane was having second thoughts if he would say the word or not. Mayumi waited patiently for him to continue. "I mean, you might be looking for him during the time."

Mayumi smirked. "Don't worry. I won't. Since the Nationals is close. I'll be busy practicing by that time anyway." she said.

"Oh." he opened his mouth before he even realized. "Wait. You're going to the Nationals too?" the other teen asked, he did not really hear about the archery club participating in the Nationals. Mayumi smiled plainly as her response.

Moments later, "Anyway, I got to go now, Kurobane-san." She turned her heels and was about to walk away but stopped when she heard the other teen called out to her. "Yeah?" she asked as she looked over her shoulder.

"Did you get a haircut?"

"You noticed? Yeah, I did." _And it was because of HIM! Darn you, Sengoku. _She turned to him again.

"Can you untie your hair for a while? If you won't mind, that is."

"Sure." She said as she reached the tie and removed it. Once her hair was down, she ran through her hair with her hands; fixing it so that she would not look like a witch.

Kurobane stared at her for a while, and so were the people who were passing by. Was this the Fujiwara Mayumi he knew? She kind of looked different when her hair was down, it was like she was another person. "You look different, Fujiwara-san." he commented. He turned around. "I better go. Bye." He said as he walked away.

"Okay." The brunette said as she also turned around and walked to her room. While on the way, she realized something. Since when was she close to Kurobane? As far as she could remember it was the first time she and the other teen had a proper conversation. _What the heck is going on? I didn't even mind letting him see me with my hair laid down!_

---0.0---

Afternoon practice came, and the regulars were having practice matches. Ryou and Saeki were on their way to court A. "Ne, Saeki," the black-haired teen spoke. Saeki looked at him, wearing an inquiring look on his face.

"Yeah?"

"Did you look at what was in the envelope yesterday?" he asked as he opened the gate and went in the court.

Saeki went in after Kisarazu. "No." he said coolly.

"So… you don't know what's in it?" he asked. The silver-haired tennis player shook his head. "Oh… Is it from Fujiwara?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Is-" Ryou was not able to finish what he wanted to say when Saeki cut him.

"I don't want to talk about Mayumi-san right now. The Nationals is our priority right now." As he walked to the other side of the court, he rested his racket on his shoulder. "Come on. Let's practice." He said as he positioned himself.

The other teen blinked a few times, looking at his teammate wearing a questioning look. _So something did happen._ He smirked. "Sure, sure." He moved outside the baseline and bounced a tennis ball a few times. He faced him. "Here it comes." Then he served.

As they kept playing, Saeki was thinking of some things. _The Nationals is what's important. _A flashback of what he saw last Saturday appeared on his mind. He gritted his teeth. _Okay… I really got to get Mayumi-san out of my mind._

**---0.0---**

**I feel like Saeki's giving up. oh well... I guess he will.**

**ARGH! Saeki was sooo OOC, or so I think. I mean... I don't know. Hope you liked this chapter!!!**

_**Thank you to the following:**_

**RenYu: **thanks for the review. uh... i don't think that her clothes are necessary in the story. heheh

**-AcRaZyWriTeR-: **long time no see... i mean, uhhh... whatever. anyway, thanks for the review. and i think the one who took the picture will be revealed in the next chapter, i hope.

**unknown player: **sorry that it took me long to update the last chapter but i'm glad that you liked it! i hope you liked this one too.

**sekainoowari: **thanks for the review! i kinda wondered why you suddenly decided to read my story. hehehe... please excuse the first few chapters. i was supposed to edit them but i'm kind of hesitant to do it. i just want to see how much i improve once in a while. so that's the reason why i didn't edit them, even with the awful grammar and sentence construction. sigh.


	16. A pleasant day?

_Imagine the target in front of you. _Her eyes closed, she slowly saw a red dot surrounded by pitch black. She stared at the dot for a few seconds, and then released the string.

"WOAH!" someone said in awe as she slowly opened her eyes. "That shot was a 10! Your eyes were even closed! You're really awesome, Mayumi-senpai!"

"Eh… a 10?" Mayumi stated, as she stared at the target board or bat (where the target is placed). She saw her last arrow landed on the second most inner circle of the target face (the target, it also allows you to know your score, it depends where your arrow landed). "Yeah… I guess. Too bad it's not 'X'." she sighed.

"Mayumi-senpai, even if you hit 'X', your score is still a 10."

Mayumi smirked. "True." She said to her kohai, walking towards the target bat to get her arrows.

"How did you do that, Mayumi-senpai? Shooting with your eyes closed." Still not getting over how her senpai did it, she asked her.

"My eyes weren't close at first, Yoko. I looked at the target for a second before I closed my eyes." She explained as she placed her arrows in her quiver (where you place your arrows).

"Is it hard to do?" Yoko asked.

"When you get used to it, no." she answered. She turned around and walked further away from the shooting line (where the archers stand to shoot). "One more end." (One end, in archery, is like a round for boxing, set for volleyball, quarter for basketball… in one round for archery consists 12 ends, except for elimination round that consists 4 ends per opponent. 1 end, there are 3 arrows to shoot.)

"FIFTY METERS?! YOU'RE KIDDING, RIGHT?!" Yoko blurted out, as she watched behind her senpai about 50 meters away from the target bat.

"No. I'm not gonna win if I won't practice fifty meters."

The younger teen stayed silent. True. Her senpai can't win the nationals if she didn't practice 50 meters. Why the officials thought of playing the elimination round using 50 meters was beyond her. Why couldn't it be 30?

Mayumi shot 3 arrows, one at a time. Yoko didn't see Mayumi close her eyes just like the previous end. She wanted to ask her why, but let it slide anyway.

"Hmmm… I guess I'm still not that good in 50 meters." Mayumi said as she got her score for this end. "9-7-6… if you add them together it's 22. 22 out of 30?" She sighed. "Not good enough for the Nationals… Oh well, better work harder tomorrow." she pulled out her arrows from the target bat and went straight to her stuffs.

Mayumi walked Yoko home. Somehow that kid could still act so childish that one couldn't even trust her to go home alone.

"See yah tomorrow, Mayumi-senpai!" Yoko waved at her before she went in their gate. Mayumi raised an arm and started walking away.

---0.0---

It started this morning and classes had already ended. Yet, Sengoku still found himself thinking about things over and over again… especially what happened last Saturday.

"_Basketball shoot is at the right, not left." Sengoku told his companion, who was about to turn left, with a smirk plastered on his face._

_The lass glared at him. "Well, sorry for being such an idiot around here." She said sarcastically. "I'm not that familiar in the arcade. I usually come to the mall to buy some things that I need." The arcade was big anyway; it was a bit difficult for her to remember where a certain game was located._

"_Yeah, yeah, whatever." He said as he moved his right arm over her shoulders._

_In response, Mayumi elbowed the other teen's abdomen which made him shoved his arm off the girl's shoulders. The brunette glared. _

_Sengoku smiled nervously and stepped back. He let the brunette walk ahead towards their first game._

He couldn't stop grinning. It was so fun that he kept on thinking about it nonstop. _She almost tripped! _He laughed. _Wonder why she was so clumsy that time. _Now that he thought about it, it made him a bit curious. _Ah well._

_But seriously… back at the salon, she really shocked me. Who would have thought a simple trim could actually make her look… well, different. _He imagined Mayumi's new look, sparkles in his eyes. _IT'S LIKE I'M IN LOVE!_

"Sengoku-senpai?" he heard a sharp voice, somehow quite familiar.

The orange-haired flirt snapped back to reality and turned to the person who just called. "Oh, Taichi. Anything wrong?

"Uh, no. we just heard you say 'I'm in love'." The freshman manager said plainly.

"Oh. Wait. _'WE'_?" he asked, wearing a confused look.

Someone scoffed. "Yeah. _'WE'_."

"Akutsu! Sorry, I didn't see you."

The gray-haired monster, uhmmm… teen, looked away. "Whatever."

"Sengoku-senpai's in love, desu! Isn't that great, Akutsu-senpai?" the freshman slapped his hands, delighted to know that _finally_ his flirt of a senpai was in love.

Akutsu snorted humorlessly. "That trash always feels that way."

"Wah?" Sengoku wore a puzzled look.

"We did hear you say you're in love." Dan explained.

"No. It's not like that I'm-" he tried to explain but was eventually cut.

"There you are!" their captain yelled, jogging towards them. "What the heck are you doing, skipping practice?" Minami asked.

Before Sengoku could speak out, Minami spoke again. "Anyway, go get to practice." He ordered.

Afternoon practice ended, and Sengoku was the only member of the club left because of his punishment. "I'm soooo tired." He crouched. He changed into his school uniform. Once he got out of the locker room, his phone rang.

"Hello?" he answered. He listened to what the person on the other line said and grinned. "Alright. I'll be there." He responded. He dashed out of the campus, grin still plastered on his face.

---0.0---

"What the-?" were the only words which came out of Mayumi's lips, an eyebrow was raised. She stared at the house, there was definitely something wrong. One of the rooms was lighted. _What the heck?!_ She was usually the first one to arrive at home. _Wait a minute, what if… a burglar? Oh damn._

She stepped in the front yard, tiptoeing towards the front door. She grabbed the warm door knob- wait, what? Warm? So, someone came in the house not so long ago. Why must this happen to her?! Why?!

She turned the knob and pushed the door open. She turned to the room with the lights on and it was the living room. She slowly walked in, turning from one direction to another, being aware of the so-called situation she was in.

The sofa was not wrinkled. The paintings are still there, and the figurines.

While looking around the room, Mayumi felt something behind her. She ignored it. She stopped her tracks and sighed in relief. "I guess everything's alright. All is clear." She convinced herself.

Then she felt hands suddenly covered her eyes.

Spoke too soon.

"OH SHI- DAMN!" she jerked. But the hands were still there. She elbowed the person behind her which made the person loosen. She jerked again and broke free. "WHO IN THE WORLD OF ANIMALIA ARE YOU?!" she yelled. Her heartbeat was fast; she thought she was a goner. She looked at the suspect, panting.

"Now that really hurt, Mayumi…" the person said with a hurtful tone.

"And who are you, may I ask?" she asked as she raised an eyebrow, looking at the person suspiciously. She found out that the person was a he. She observed him. He looked like he was in high school, about 17 of age.

"I can't believe this! You can't even remember me?!" he cried in disbelief

The person did look a bit familiar but Mayumi just can't remember his name. Where had she even met him? Wait a minute. "T-Takuya?" she named the person in uncertainty.

"Was that a question?"

"Yes. I'm asking if your name is 'Takuya'."

"Should I answer you?"

"What do you think?" okay, now this was really getting her nerves. Why does he have to keep on asking questions? Anytime now, she would really strangle this stranger.

"You shouldn't answer a question with a question." The stranger said in an as-a-matter-of-fact manner.

Should she explode or not? Well… guess who started it." she stated as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Hmmm…" he thought for a moment. "You." He pointed at her.

"OKAY THAT'S IT! GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO YOU!" she roared. Forgetting the situation she had a while ago, she pushed the lad to the front door, her behind him, as he put one foot forward and pushed his back against her.

"Take it easy there, tiger."

"SAY WHAT?!" she shrieked. "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" if she was Haruno Sakura in Naruto, he would already be 30 meters away from her by now.

"Uhhh…" he scratched his amber color of a hair. "Ti-"

"SURPRISE!" Mayumi heard people exclaimed. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAYUMI!" she heard them say.

She stared at the stranger for a while and saw a smile on his face. She turned around and found almost all of her relatives standing behind their beige-colored walls. How come she didn't notice them?

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR!" her trail of thought was cut and found her mom and dad in front of her wearing such genuine smiles.

She wore a confused look and pointed at herself. "Birthday? _MY_ birthday? You mean,_ MINE_?" she asked just to make sure.

They nodded.

She stared at them.

"…"

"Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday, _Killua-kun_." The amber haired teen grinned and patted Mayumi at the back.

Flabbergasted, the brunette turned to the other teen. "What did you just call me?" she asked, somehow threatening him.

"Killua-kun." He answered directly.

"So, you really are Takuya-niisan, right?" he was the only one who knew her first crush… an anime crush at that.

"Well-"

"Oh, Takuya, just end this nonsense. We've been invisible here for 10 minutes, you know." Another brunette about at the age of 17 requested the amber haired teen.

"Well, Tetsuya. This cousin of mine who is also a sister of yours forgot about this very handsome teen here." Takuya stated pointing at himself. Tetsuya and Mayumi snorted. "As if." They said in chorus.

"Glad to hear you cousins chat and all but I think everyone's hungry." Mayumi's aunt started. "If you don't mind, Mayumi-chan. Can we start dinner?" she continued.

Mayumi shook her head. "I don't mind." She answered. Everyone then turned to a 3 meter table covered with red table cloth and was full of the family's favorite chow. And the feast… celebration started.

"Where's Riku?" Mayumi asked where her younger brother was.

"He's in the living room… Seriously, can't you use your eyes for once?" Tetsuya, her older brother, teased her and smirked.

She threw him a glare but then sighed in defeat. It was already pointless to argue with a person like her brother. But it's quite fun having him as her brother.

"Hey, Mayumi-nee. Kiyosumi-nii is here." Riku told her as he and Sengoku entered.

"Oh. Hi, Kiyosumi." The other 2 siblings said in chorus.

---0.0---

"Eiji," Oishi called his doubles partner seeing as they were supposed to be in the dining room having dinner with the others. "We're the only ones who aren't at the dining room."

"You go ahead, Oishi. I just have something to do for a moment." The red-head told him. "Please give my apologize to everyone, especially the Rokkaku, for me." He said as he went in to their room.

Eiji jumped on his bed and grabbed something on his bedside table. He took his phone and dialed some numbers. The red-head tennis player placed the receiver beside his ear and heard a ring.

After a few rings, someone pick the other side of line. "Hello?" a feminine voice answered the call.

"Hello. Uhhh… is Mayumi-chan there?" Eiji asked.

"Yeah. Hold on for a minute." The person requested as she called for Mayumi. "Mayumi! Phone!" she called.

Mayumi, who was happily eating and talking to her siblings and Sengoku, stood up and reached for the phone. "Hello?" she answered.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Mayumi heard the person on the other line greet.

"Thanks." She smiled once she recognized who the owner of the voice was. "So… what's going on?"

"Sorry that I was not able to be with you on your birthday." He apologized. "Our team is having a training camp for 3 days and we just started today. Talk about wrong timing."

"No. It's fine. You're goal is to be the number 1 doubles pair with Oishi-san, right? So, you should at least practice for that."

"True." He agreed to what his best friend said. "I heard that you're also participating in the Nationals. WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"

"I guess I forgot."

"Mou," he whined. "Anyway, I thought Hyoutei won in Japanese archery during the Kantou tournament."

"Who said anything about Japanese?"

"Eh?"

"I'm playing the modern one. We actually got the second place in the Kantou but at least. Our Japanese archery was not able to acquire one of the slots in the top three but they're still good, to be frank."

"EIJI-SENPAI!" Momoshiro called out. "TEZUKA-BUCHOU SAID THAT IF YOU WON'T BE HERE by 10 SECONDS, YOU WILL BE GIVEN A PUNISHMENT OF 50 LAPS AROUND THE BEACH AND WILL DRINK INUI-SENPAI'S NEW JUICE!" the spiky-haired junior said to him from downstairs.

"OkayIgottagoMayumi-chan! Bye!" then he hung up.

Mayumi moved the phone away from her ear and placed it down. She walked towards the living room where everyone was staying, while a thought came into her mind. _Wonder why you haven't called… Kojir-Saeki-san. _

Meanwhile, Eiji managed to arrive in the dining room before it was _'time's up'_ for him. Tezuka sighed and ordered him to eat his dinner. Eiji looked at the Rokkaku regulars and smiled at them in embarrassment. They smiled at him and they let him know that it was alright. Eiji took his seat beside Oishi.

"What were you doing up there, Eiji-senpai?" Momoshiro asked him in curiousity. Then took a piece of pork and placed it in his mouth.

The redhead grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started eating before he answered. "Called someone."

"Girlfriend?" the junior looked at him teasingly.

Eiji choked at the younger lad's guess. He accepted a glass of a liquid that was given to him and drank it. "HAAAAA…!" he exhaled and smiled. Seconds later everyone saw his face turn purple. "I-I-Inui's…"

"Oh boy." Ryoma muttered, pulling his cap down.

"Somebody, give him some water!" worried, Oishi asked for help.

Saeki immediately neared them, carrying a glass of water and gave it to Oishi who let Eiji drank it.

"Thank you, Saeki-san." The mother hen of Seigaku's boys' tennis team gave gratitude.

"No problem." the silver-haired teen answered, and was about to walk away from the two when someone grabbed his wrist. Saeki turned to see who the person that grabbed him was. It was Eiji.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.

"If you're gonna thank me, you don't need to-"

"Not just about that, nya." He loosened his grip on Saeki's wrist and stood up. "Can I?"

Saeki sighed then smiled after. "Sure."

"Kikumaru, you have to finish dinner first." Tezuka stated.

"Yes, sir."

Eiji finished dinner after 5 minutes and went with Saeki for a little talk.

"You know what the date today is?" Eiji asked.

Saeki looked at him questioningly. What was this all about? "I think, it's August 8."

"Oh." he muttered.

Silence enveloped them… which was really weird since Eiji wasn't used to silence.

"AH!" Saeki let out in realization. "It's Mayumi-san's birthday!"

"…" Eiji stayed quiet as he observed the other teen's reactions.

"I totally forgot!" the vice captain of the Rokkaku Chuu boys' tennis club continued. "I should at least greet her."

Eiji smirked.

"Can I borrow your phone? Mine's kind of temporarily dead. You know… battery." Saeki asked and explained.

The other teen nodded in understanding and allowed him to use his phone.

---0.0---

"Hello?" a little boy answered the phone.

"Hello." Saeki greeted. "Can I speak to Mayumi-san?"

"MAYUMI-NEECHAN! A GUY IS CALLING YOU!" the kid called out. If the people in Mayumi's family had not known that Mayumi was close to guys, they would seriously look at her in suspicion.

"Hello?" Mayumi took the phone after she took it away from her cousin.

"…"

"Hello?"

"…" no answer again.

"Okay, bye." Mayumi was about to hung up but then heard a shout from the other line. "What was that?"

"I said wait." Finally he spoke.

Upon hearing the person's voice, Mayumi froze. She did not expect him to call her, even though she wanted him to. She smiled. "What made you call, Saeki-san?"

"Well, I just wanted to apologize that I almost forgot your birthday." He started.

"Don't worry. I just remembered that my birthday is today just this evening." She snorted.

"Oh. Then happy birthday. Best wishes to you." He said.

"Thanks."

"I better hang up now. Bye."

"Bye." Then they hung up.

Now her day was completed. She was oblivious about how she looked after Saeki called her. Her smile had not faded at all, even if her visitors were already gone. Her parents were glad to see their daughter happy in her birthday.

August 8 ended with such precious memories that she would treasure all her life, though they were just simple ones.

---0.0---

The next day, Mayumi finished her practice a bit late. When she got out of the campus, it was already dark. It would be very dangerous and risky to walk home alone but she walked anyway. It was dark alright. Somehow she felt a bit unsafe with the place but ignored it anyway.

She passed by a small alley, not really that narrow. An arm slipped around her neck, followed by a hand that held a handkerchief that covered her nose and mouth. She shook roughly, hoping the person would loose his hold. Unfortunately, it did not work. She ended up unconscious and was dragged by the person into a car.

-----0.0-----

**Whew! Longest chapter that I ever made. Totally can't believe that I made the chapter this long. Heheh… the chapter somehow typed itself. I only planned a few events but most of events were unexpected. Sorry for the long wait… it's not that long, right? **

**Exams just finished 2 weeks ago, then a week later I just had participating in the regional tournaments... so I really had a hard time with 17. But just wait for it, okay? That's all.  
**

**Please review.**

**sekainoowari: **Hmmm… great question. However, I have an answer to that. They're still in junior high. One can't really tell if his feelings for a person is real. So, maybe, Saeki thought that his feelings were just infatuation or something, and that's why he thought that it could be easy to let go. By the way… I'm glad you liked that last chapter. ^-^

**-AcRaZyWriTer-****: **Really? That's a coincidence, I guess. Heheheh… hope you liked this chapter.

**unknown player****: -**celebrates- YEY! The envelope thing will be revealed, I think, on chapter 17 or 18. Sorry about that. Hope you liked this chapter.

**RenYu****: **Saeki, in the last chapter, was just like you before… I think. I think I better do the torturing in another fic, it doesn't suit well in the story, I guess. Your theories or guesses are quite amusing. Kekeke…

**haganenocutie94****: **Well, I guess Saeki is kinda stupid... What did you mean by 'Mayumi is just close off'? I didn't get it... Even with your harsh, not really, and stupid comments... I'm glad that you liked the chapter. -grins-


	17. Kidnapped

**I know, I know… I know what you guys are gonna say. Why on earth am I updating after a year and 10 months? Well, first I want to say that I'm sorry for updating way too long. The duration of the hiatus was like I have abandoned the story. I really experienced writer's block and lacked Prince of Tennis inspiration. And I seriously am sorry for the LOOOONG wait. D:**

**But anyway, I'm really really happy that I am able to update before the hiatus gets to it's 2****nd**** year. XD**

**Without further ado, here is Chapter 17. Enjoy! :D**

**-0.0-**

"_What do you want from me?"_

_A guy chuckled evilly as he threw his cigarette somewhere to his right. He walked towards the girl, and held her chin. "Don't be stingy, Miss Beautiful."_

_The girl glared at the guy. "Tch. If you were in my shoes right now, you'd understand. But duh… you're not." She retorted._

"_Oh ho. Based on my two years of kidnapping experience, the girls tend to be afraid, begging for their freedom." The guy bragged proudly, as he lessened the distance between his face and the girl's._

"_And you were expecting me to do that?" she asked nonchalantly._

"_I didn't actually expect anything. That thought just popped on my mind." He gave a charismatic smile._

_The girl rolled her eyes in disgust. "You know if you don't have anything else to do, why don't you just let me go?"_

"_Tsk. I can't do that, Miss. I'm a hired kidnapper after all."_

_The door slowly swung open._

"_Just in time." The guy uttered, as he saw the person who just came in. "Miss, meet my client." The guy gestured his hand in a gentleman manner, presenting his client to his victim._

_The girl's eyes widened. "Y-you," she stuttered._

"_Well, my job here is done. Bye, Miss Beautiful." The kidnapper said, waving his hand as he walked out._

"_W-wait!"_

_The new guy chuckled. "Hello, honey. Let's have some fun, okay?" He stated maliciously, a lustful aura enveloped around the guy, forcefully giving an angelic smile. He walked near her._

"_What? Wait! NO! HELP!" the girl screamed, desperately trying to call for help._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-^-^-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Wow… poor girl. She's gonna be raped by her own fiancé." A lad commented on the movie that he was watching. "How is that even possible?"

"I'm home!"

"Welcome back." He yelled back to his mom as she slammed the doors shut behind her.

"Oh. Riku, you're back early, I see." The middle-aged woman spoke as she found her youngest son watching television.

"Same goes to you, mom. And the rest of the family, I guess." The teen named 'Riku' replied.

"I see. Is Mayumi back?" The woman asked, wondering if their usual early bird had also arrived. The rest of the family, besides Mayumi, usually came home late. Today was believed to be an exception.

The boy only shook his head and went back to watching the show on television.

**-0.0—**

"What do you want from me?" Mayumi immediately cringed after those words left her lips. Ugh. Classic cliché kidnapped victim line! Point one for Mayumi for her outstanding originality! YAY!

NOT.

"Nothing." A guy with a masked on answered.

Mayumi's eyebrows twitched.

"Then why am I here?" Seriously this guy was definitely idiotic. He just said 'Nothing'! How could that reason out why she was somewhere unknown to her. 'Say _nothing _again, and I will definitely find a way to get out of these friggin' cuffs and will bludgeon you to death.' She thought.

"Because I have this sibling who wants to do something to you."

"And why?" Oh. So, some other person wanted to do something to her. Oh great. Weee… Not. Whoever this person was, she was pretty sure she hadn't met him at all. She couldn't remember anyone who could look similar to the lad in front of her.

The guy shrugged. "Beats me."

Mayumi rolled her eyes in , for the love of God. People didn't make enough sense anymore.

"But, you know, you're pretty." The guy mused as he held her chin gently. "Let's have some fun while waiting for that person to arrive." He smirked, slowly lessening the gap between their faces.

Their faces were just about three inches away from each other and Mayumi couldn't help but have the urge to back away but she couldn't. She seriously didn't like where this was going.

"Nii-sama, what do you think you're doing?" a feminine yet firm voice came.

Mayumi and the guy turned to the door and found a girl with jet-black hair standing with pride.

"Nothing in particular." The lad smiled cutely at his sister.

"Wait. Is she the one who-" he nodded before Mayumi could finish her question. "Now, this is scary." Mayumi uttered, with an 'I-am-going-to-hell-ain't-I?' tone.

He moved away and patted her shoulder. "I know. Good luck, Miss Beautiful." He whispered, then stood up and went out of the room.

Mayumi sweatdropped. "Thanks?" she unsurely replied.

"Now, if it isn't Fujiwara Mayumi-san." The girl who just came in spoke.

"Hello." Keeping her cool, Mayumi answered.

"I'm Tsujimura Izumi. Third year in Yamabuki class B." she introduced herself coolly.

"Uh…" Mayumi was uncertain if she should reply or what. "Nice to meet you."

What the hell was she doing here? She was supposed to be home by now!

"Why am I here?" she asked. "Because I really need to go home. My parents might be looking for me." She reasoned out.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-^-^-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"_I was thinking about you. Thinking about me. Thinking about us. What we're gonna be."_

Singing Karaoke

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-^-^-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"On the second thought, they're probably not home yet." The victim guessed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-^-^-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"_It was only just a dream!"_

Singing Karaoke

"Here's some food!" Mom came in with food in hand.

"Oh yeah!" The three brothers rejoiced upon sight of the food.

…At HOME

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-^-^-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Don't worry, Mayumi-san. You'll be back before you know it." Izumi assured her as she snapped her fingers."After I torment you, that is."

'Okay, at times like this, I wish I was a masochist.' Mayumi thought scornfully as she leveled a disturbed stare at the girl in front of her.

"Wait. Can't we talk this out?" Mayumi rose. "I mean, I don't even know why I have to be tormented by someone who I just met a few minutes ago."

"Oh right. I forgot about that." Izumi laughed at herself cutely…

…which made Mayumi sweatdrop and at least sighed in relief.

**-0.0—**

"Okay. So you're saying that they guy you like is my boyfriend?" the victim started summarizing what the suspect had told her. "And by making me suffer, the girlfriend, you'd just let him go and live a content life?"

The other lass nodded enthusiastically like a little kid being asked if she wanted a candy.

Mayumi scratched the back of her head in a 'this-is-so-not-happening' manner. This was definitely getting to her nerves. "Let me guess. This guy that you like, is he Sengoku?"

"Like duh. Who else would it be?" the black-haired girl immediately retorted, then a thought came to her.

"Are you telling me you have someone else? How dare you cheat on Sengoku-sama!" Izumi grabbed the other's neck, effectively cutting her supply of oxygen.

The brunette coughed. "No! You got it all wrong." Sengoku-sama, eh? Wow, she really was a fangirl.

"What do you mean 'wrong'? I know everything about you two!" This girlfriend sure ticked her off. How dare she deny her relationship with the person she longed for yet didn't have?

"Oh, woe is her."

"Just listen to me." Okay, this pretty black-haired girl was not a fangirl, she was worse… she was a stalker.

"NO! I don't like you in the first place. I think it's better to make you suffer right this instant." Izumi said, a wooden bed with barb wires on top suddenly appeared in the room with other electronic tormenting equipments.

"SENGOKU'S NOT MY BOYFRINED!" Pissed, Mayumi yelled. 'Seriously, this girl is even WORSE then a crazy-ass stalker. She's a total whack-job who's got her panties in a knot. Geez. Doesn't she know she's going to jail for this? Crazy ass stalker whack-job from hell. I wonder what's for dinner tonight.' She thought.

Izumi paused, as she let go of the victim, and so were the rest of the machines. "What did you say?"

Mayumi's eyes twitched. Oh, if she wasn't tied up, she would most definitely beat the person in front of her 'til she was half dead. "He's not my boyfriend."

Couldn't believe what she just heard, the raven haired girl spoke, "B-but… how?"

"You got the wrong information, that's for sure. And you call yourself a stalker." She glared. "Now, let me go before I could free myself and kick your good for nothing ass, Tsujimura-san." Mayumi warned. She was upset and she couldn't stand it any longer.

As if manipulated by Mayumi's angry eyes, Izumi untied the other teen's hands.

"Thanks." The brunette stated, rubbing her sore wrists and neck, and stood up.

"Sorry." The other girl apologized, embarrassed on what she had done and what she would have done.

"Don't say any more. Not even a word. It's okay. I'll just forget what just happened." The supposed victim of the situation said nonchalantly, her back facing the other.

Mayumi walked out of the god-forsaken room and walked on the hallway.

**-0.0—**

Okay, first of all, she should figure out where she was.

…

'Where the hell is this place?' She thought all too loudly that she probably ended up whispering the thought. She made it to a certain hall, which made her cock an eyebrow. This place looked like… like a hotel. Oh for the love of- ! The spot was definitely familiar but no matter how hard she ransacked her mind to come up with the hotel's name she still came up with nothing. She shrugged as she went out of the hall and back to the corridor.

Mayumi stomped her way through the hallway after remembering that she was dragged for a very childish reason that it made her sick and just want to die. Well, not really. But she was absolutely not in the mood for such stupid acts. 'Argh… my life.'

"STUPID WOMAN. STUPID OBSESSION. STUPID SENGOKU." Mayumi continued walking, more like stomping, and was about to take a right turn…

…but bumped into someone.

Good grief.

She fell on her butt. Yeah, REALLY sucked to be her.

"Ow." Her eyes shut due to the impact, and titled her head up, as if telling life that she surrendered.

"Sorry, miss." The person she bumped into apologized, eyes closed too, also due to the impact when his butt was introduced to the floor, as he rubbed his bottom back.

"It's okay." Mayumi opened her eyes and faced the other person. Her eyes widened.

"Kojirou?" She uttered, uncertain.

The guy opened her eyes and faced the girl, "Mayumi-san?" He called her name in disbelief.

Mayumi sat properly and so did the guy.

"Why are you here?" the lass asked in confusion, wasn't he having a training camp?

"I should be asking the same thing. Shouldn't you be at home right now?" Saeki answered and asked.

Mayumi turned her head to the right and forced a laugh. "Yeah," she replied. "But since I got kidnapped by a stalker, I ended up here." She mumbled to no one but herself.

"What was that?" the silver-haired lad pardoned, not hearing what the girl just murmured.

"Nothing. " She immediately responded, as she quickly faced him with a forced smile.

"Ah, anyway, where are we?" Mayumi asked the lad after remembering her situation.

"TsujiHana hotel." Saeki answered. The thought why the girl before him didn't know the place she was in probably slipped his mind.

"Oh." She held her chin with her right hand and supported the said arm with her left. So she was quite far from her home. Damn that whackjob of a stalker for dragging her to quite a far place. Shit.

"The others are in the conference room. We were going to talk about today's evaluation on our performance. Why don't you go see them before you go home, Mayumi-san." Saeki suggested, pointing the way to the said room.

"S-sure." She reluctantly answered.

And both of them started walking.

Was it really alright to go see them? They would most likely ask her what she was doing here. How on earth was she going to explain all of this … cow crap?

After a minute or two of walking, they were at the front of the door where everyone was.

"We're here." Saeki said.

Mayumi looked at the door. "So, this is it." She then looked at the corridor again and found a very familiar girl in a kimono.

She froze.

"E-eh?" Mayumi exclaimed, pointing at the said girl. The last person she wanted to see right now was right in front of her.

"Y-y-you!" Mayumi stuttered.

Saeki noticed Mayumi's strange behavior, so he faced where the lass was watching. "Ah. Tsujimura-san." He named the girl who just arrived. "It seems like you two met already, Mayumi-san." Saeki guessed, basing on the lass's reaction.

"You know her?" The brunette asked the silver-haired teen in surprise.

"Of course!" his smiled. "She's the daughter of this hotel's owner. She's been taking care of us during our stay."

Mayumi's eyes widened. "W-what?" Once again, she stuttered. Oh no, she just fought with this place's probable heir.

The jet black-haired girl smiled in a lady-like manner.

**-0.0—**

"So you're having a sleepover with Tsujimura-san?" Eiji repeated.

Izumi only answered "Yes" to the red-head in Mayumi's stead.

As if in a trauma, 'Th-this can't be happening.' She thought to herself. Mayumi went outside calmly and ran to the garden at her limit speed.

She stopped and leaned on her knees to get some air. Yeah, she was definitely out of breath.

After getting all the air that she needed, she sighed.

"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" she screamed her lungs out. Damn her life.

**-0.0-**

**Alright! **

**Seriously, I am sooo curious whether you really enjoyed the story. I mean, it has been almost two years and I don't know if you still remembered the story line or what. In the deepest part of my hypothalamus, I really hope that you enjoyed the chapter. **

**I hope that the chapter was worth the wait. So, in order for me to know, please do review. ^^ No, I'm not a review-whore. I just want to know what you guys think after waiting for 1 year and 10 months for this chapter. And besides, I feel like my writing sucked out big time. T_T It's sad. :( **

**That's all. –bows-**


End file.
